Most of the famous mathematicians were driven by philosophy. For example Kepler wanted to keep perfection in the new model universe. He thought he could do it b

Most of the famous mathematicians were driven by philosophy. For example Kepler wanted to keep perfection in the new model universe. He thought he could do it by using Plato's solids for the relative distances between the planets. He was wrong, but the mathematical attempts he tired help to form a more correct answer. The motivation was philosophical.