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The authors give the phrase “Wholeness quiets infinite phenomena” as a canonical example of bullshit. Well, that’s a terrible choice, because the statement is,

The authors give the phrase “Wholeness quiets infinite phenomena” as a canonical example of bullshit. Well, that’s a terrible choice, because the statement is, classically, incredibly profound. In the Pythagorean and Platonic tradition [1], harmony results from the limiting of the unlimited. Or, paraphrasing, “wholeness results from the quieting of the infinite.” Harmony~wholeness, unlimited~infinite, quieting~limiting. “The mixture of elements from the Limited and Unlimited, in appropriate combination, produces a harmonious mathematical concord” [2] Nobody claims that this statement is easy to understand. But do you really want to call bullshit on Plato and Pythagoras? That’s bold. [1] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philolaus/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philolaus/ [2] https://research.tees.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/4035550/603999.pdf https://research.tees.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/4035550/60...

msla 3y ago
> But do you really want to call bullshit on Plato and Pythagoras? Plato advocated for dictatorship. Pythagoras thought beans were magical.
- dr_dshiv 3y ago
  Plato wrote complex dialogues designed to make people think for themselves. Pythagoras had such a major impact on science that Newton, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo all claimed to be Pythagorean.
  - msla 3y ago
    > Plato wrote complex dialogues designed to make people think for themselves. He explicitly advocated for dictatorship. > Pythagoras had such a major impact on science that Newton, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo all claimed to be Pythagorean. So? That doesn't make his ideas any better, it merely means they were Eurocentric.
    - dr_dshiv 3y ago
      I’d say the adoption of his thoughts by some of the greatest scientists of all time means his ideas are worth being open to. If you really think that two of the greatest thinkers of antiquity are “bullshit” it might be more likely that you are missing something. And, fwiw, Pythagoras was known for explicitly adopting culturally diverse ideas, including from Asia and Africa
      - msla 3y ago
        Being a "great thinker" doesn't insulate someone from being wrong. Thinking otherwise is mere idolatry and adulation, something people usually grow out of.

msla 3y ago

> But do you really want to call bullshit on Plato and Pythagoras? Plato advocated for dictatorship. Pythagoras thought beans were magical.

dr_dshiv 3y ago
Plato wrote complex dialogues designed to make people think for themselves. Pythagoras had such a major impact on science that Newton, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo all claimed to be Pythagorean.
- msla 3y ago
  > Plato wrote complex dialogues designed to make people think for themselves. He explicitly advocated for dictatorship. > Pythagoras had such a major impact on science that Newton, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo all claimed to be Pythagorean. So? That doesn't make his ideas any better, it merely means they were Eurocentric.
  - dr_dshiv 3y ago
    I’d say the adoption of his thoughts by some of the greatest scientists of all time means his ideas are worth being open to. If you really think that two of the greatest thinkers of antiquity are “bullshit” it might be more likely that you are missing something. And, fwiw, Pythagoras was known for explicitly adopting culturally diverse ideas, including from Asia and Africa
    - msla 3y ago
      Being a "great thinker" doesn't insulate someone from being wrong. Thinking otherwise is mere idolatry and adulation, something people usually grow out of.