Hypatia...AD 350-370 to 415

[christina]

“All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final,” “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all” and “To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing.”

Oooooo, I like that one

[Goodrum]

PUMll The Fieldmarshal page 196

-"Leaders of Leaders"

-They choose to study science

-Point of view is pragmatic, skeptical, relativistic....seek knowledge, directive role...(possibly why Cyril was getting a little restless on her teachings?)

Would it be simplistic to say here then, I can rest my mind on Cyril not being a healer, possibly more a guardian ...possibly protecting his own power, his religion/beliefs...wary she might bring her influence of paganism unto his people..

Back to PUM page 197

Seem to have influence beyond their numbers....male or female, whatever their age, bound to lead others....can find themselves in charge of groups, (teaching?)

I'm not assuming too much here?

[Goodrum]

Quotation of the Day: “[Hypatia was], among the women of antiquity what Sappho was in poetry and what Aspasia was in philosophy and eloquence – the chiefest glory of her sex. In profundity of knowledge and variety of attainments she had few peers among her contemporaries and she is entitled to a conspicuous place among such luminaries of science as Ptolemy, Euclid, Apollonius, Diophantus and Hipparchus.”

– J.J. Moznas

[Goodrum]

Awl.


I guess we don't have much information to go on....I tend to think she must have possessed a very strong will to overcome....the, , atmosphere. It seems like she aspired to be a wizard. She was a believer in equality....I respect that What a cool lady!

Driven?

Perhaps as in rational fieldmarshal, seeking her knowledge, a force in teaching, seeking the truth, not to accept just any old crap churned out. Love her.

CANNOT wait to see the movie!!!!

[Goodrum]

Oops, but wait, head didn't even hit pillow.

What if Hypatia is as Christina says, an inventor, (rational), or what if she is an idealist teacher?

In this article, the "teacher" issue is hit home again and again:

https://thescienceclassroom.wikispaces. ... Alexandrea

Hypatia was most known for her teaching skills. She was the most influential teacher of her time, and taught classes daily to all people of different religions and ideas, and her students grew in knowledge and understanding of the world. Since she was a teacher at the university she influenced many of the young and encouraged them to think about how this world really works. She was said to be “the most famous women scientist in the world, until Madam Marie Curie came to be famous

PUMll Rational Inventor page 202

-Intensely curious/continuously probe for possibilities

-Such curiousity can inspire others

-People seek out their company

We need to explore if she could be an inventor...she is on the record for her (still world wide known) inventions.

Tomorrow...

[Olga]

I think you might need to critisize your sources some more. Like who wrote what and when and perhaps even why. Look for words of values and assumptions. Unfortunately, you won't have that much left if you do.

[Goodrum]

I think you might need to critisize your sources some more. Like who wrote what and when and perhaps even why. Look for words of values and assumptions. Unfortunately, you won't have that much left if you do.

Yes, part of the fun...found this before I went to bed:

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/philosophy/6870

Hypatia: Philosopher and Symbol
Apr 15, 1998 - © Frederic Giacobazzi

The known facts about her are scant. And separating the facts from the legend challenges today's scholars.

The dates of her life are in dispute, sometimes given as 370? - 415? A.D. She was the daughter of a mathematician and philosopher famous in his time, although her fame has come to surpass that of her father.
All of her writings are lost except for titles and only a few surviving references to three major treatises on geometry and algebra and one on astronomy.
She is reputed to have invented several tools, including an instrument for distilling water, an instrument to measure the specific gravity of water, an astrolabe, and a planisphere.
She followed in the footsteps of her father and became a teacher at the Library of Alexandria, later founding a school of Neoplatonism.
Legend has it both that she was beautiful and that letters arriving in Alexandria addressed simply to "the philosopher" were delivered to her.
According to most accounts, she died violently, joining the company of of other thinkers, from Pythagoras to Socrates to Bruno, martyred for their beliefs. She was brutally murdered by Nitrian monks, a fanatical sect of Christians who were supporters of Cyril (later St. Cyril), Patriarch of Alexandria..

...and they offer this:


If you travel the Web in search of philosophy, you will have noticed the growing number of sites which mention her or provide information, conjecture, and links about Hypatia's life and work. If you are interested in gleaning what there is to glean online, here are some places to visit and sources to consult:

Web Sites



Hypatia, by Ginny Adair in Biographies of Women Mathematicians at Agnes Scott College.


Hypatia of Alexandria at St. Andrews University.


Hypatia of Alexandria at A Guide to Ancient Alexandria: Cosmology, Philosophy, Myth and Culture.


Hypatia of Alexandria, by Gill Thornhill at the Museum of Women in Science & Technology.


Hypatia: Silenced by Death, by Bolder Landry in Truth Seeker: The Journal of Independent Thought. Typical of the sort of Web sources which stress her martyrdom.


The Life of Hypatia from Damascius's Life of Isidore from the journal Alexandria 2 (1993). A classic source.


The Martyrdom of Hypatia, or The Death of the Classical World, by Mangasar Mugurditch Mangasarian. An overheated tribute: Oh! is there a blacker deed in human annals? When has another man or woman been so inhumanly murdered? Has politics, has commerce, has cannibalism even committed a more cruel crime? The cannibal pleads hunger to cover his cruelty - what excuse had Hypatia's murderers? Even Joan of Arc was more fortunate in her death than this daughter of Paganism! Beautiful woman! murdered by men who were not worthy to touch the hem of thy garment!


Recommended Reading



Online Bibliographies:

Hypatia of Alexandria, by Howard A. Landman. Contains list of Books dealing with Hypatia. Annotated bibliography with, where available, links to purchase.


"The Primary Sources for the Life and Work of Hypatia of Alexandria," by Michael A. B. Deakin. History of Mathematics Paper 63(August 1995). Mathematics Dept., Monash University. One of the best annotated bibliographies. An effort to "acquaint the reader with what the primary sources are and where they are to be found"

[Goodrum]

After some reviewing and stewing, I'm relatively satisfied as to the quality of the information, some of the fundamental post info is consistent, as is their disclaimer with it.

I'm not that sure on rational tho', am still rethinking the teacher idealist proposition, her teaching reference is repeated again and again, and we have the work of some of her students about her. Her sheer popularity, the love that people had for her..

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~his ... patia.html

Hypatia of Alexandria was the first woman to make a substantial contribution to the development of mathematics.

Hypatia was the daughter of the mathematician and philosopher Theon of Alexandria and it is fairly certain that she studied mathematics under the guidance and instruction of her father. It is rather remarkable that Hypatia became head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in about 400 AD. There she lectured on mathematics and philosophy, in particular teaching the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Hypatia based her teachings on those of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism, and Iamblichus who was a developer of Neoplatonism around 300 AD

Hypatia keeps being referred to as a teacher, her passion was learning, but she was a teacher.

This is where I am stuck, if rational, what of the teaching? We know idealists have an intense passion for learning, and "all rounders"...and the teachers are hardwired for it..the thing that has me a little tossed is this:

-She was very much loved

-Idealists can be the folks that are very much loved and endeared to people..

-Idealists OF COURSE love rationals, how can we not..

-But for multitudes to love rationals? (Sorry if that offends any rationals, think of this as Law of Goodrum Logic of Figuring out What Does Not Fit Here..)

-Hypatia's father really taught her and encouraged her, so that is excellent grounding...a passion was astronomy, some of her work was mathematics, she possibly invented some things....but she taught mainly philosophy.

My first response about Hypatia's temperament was rational...but so well loved, to the point of instilling fear and envy within "some" of the more zealot christians, they murdered her. To cause such response of adulation, respect and reverence...how she interacted with her students, the people...I'm thinking teacher idealist...I think it's played out like Jesus. She really made a huge impact, and her torture and murder stuck in people's minds...

And this:

She is described by all commentators as a charismatic teacher

Heath writes, [4]:-

... by her eloquence and authority ... attained such influence that Christianity considered itself threatened

What certainly seems indisputable is that she was murdered by Christians who felt threatened by her scholarship, learning, and depth of scientific knowledge. This event seems to be a turning point as described in [2]:-

Whatever the precise motivation for the murder, the departure soon afterward of many scholars marked the beginning of the decline of Alexandria as a major centre of ancient learning

Remember her background, she was very bright and encouraged by her learned father, her passion was nutured and developed for learning, "learning"...this:

There is no evidence that Hypatia undertook original mathematical research. However she assisted her father Theon of Alexandria in writing his eleven part commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest. It is also thought that she also assisted her father in producing a new version of Euclid's Elements which has become the basis for all later editions of Euclid

In addition to the joint work with her father, we are informed by Suidas that Hypatia wrote commentaries on Diophantus's Arithmetica, on Apollonius's Conics and on Ptolemy's astronomical works. The passage in Suidas is far from clear and most historians doubt that Hypatia wrote any commentaries on Ptolemy other than the works which she composed jointly with her father

All Hypatia's work is lost except for its titles and some references to it. However no purely philosophical work is known, only work in mathematics and astronomy. Based on this small amount of evidence Deakin, in [8] and [9], argues that Hypatia was an excellent compiler, editor, and preserver of earlier mathematical works.

As mentioned above, some letters of Synesius to Hypatia exist. These ask her advice on the construction of an astrolabe and a hydroscope.

Charles Kingsley (best known as the author of The Water Babies) made her the heroine of one of his novels Hypatia, or New Foes with an Old Face. As Kramer writes in [1]:-

Such works have perpetuated the legend that she was not only intellectual but also beautiful, eloquent, and modest

I think the point I am trying to make is that unless inventors makes great teachers, unless fieldmarshals make not only great teachers BUT endear themselves into hearts and minds of students...

I'm thinking idealist. The inspirers. Possibly a teacher idealist.

Fair or reasonable reasoning?

[Goodrum]

From People Patterns, page 127:

Teachers

More than all the other types, more even than the other Idealists, Teachers are born educators, with a natural talent for helping people learn about the world, and explore their talents---------positive energy can affect their students greatly-----inspire them, good with language, communicating, speak out, EXCEPTIONAL public speakers

I really think her father was an incredible influence in her life and helped her reach her full potential, skilled and knowledeable in many areas of the sciences, but teaching was her "thing". Nearly most of all the documented biographies, information remark upon her oratory skill, love and inspiration from her students and her teaching skills.

[christina]

Hmmmmm.



For the moment, I'm still officially between Teacher Idealist and Inventor Rational (I guess only because I assume the "coworking" could also help foster the popularity....I think I remember an anecdote about Tesla being popular with the ladies/well liked in general.....but then again, I don't remember him being a teacher! ).


Anywhoo...I guess I'll keep thinking about it too.


This:

-But for multitudes to love rationals? (Sorry if that offends any rationals, think of this as Law of Goodrum Logic of Figuring out What Does Not Fit Here..)

Yes, that would be one of my tentative assumptions too

Then again, when a Rational achieves celebrity status, do they become more endeared to the multitudes? Perhaps Bill Gates could be one said "example".

Also, something that has crept up in my head---is the idea that all the said qualities in a typical "Rational" are usually not well approved of in a woman.....I think if we extrapolate that assumption from the "near past" to the "distant past", it may point to Hypatia being an Idealist?

Also, was she an Atheist? Er, what was her position exactly? I would tend to think an Idealist would have some sort of "religion" to follow. Hypatia certainly followed a moral code. Maybe her "religion" was the higher ideals of philosophy/education?????

Also, I was thinking that the whole menstrual rag incident sounded rather preemptive, yeah? One has got to deter those suckers BEFORE they become a big problem