“An intellectually engaging account of Ptolemy’s worldview and his vision of a future where mathematics rules supreme
One of the most important figures in the history of science is the Greco-Roman mathematician Claudius Ptolemy. His astronomy is still remembered today, but history has nearly completely forgotten his philosophy. The first reconstruction of Ptolemy’s overall philosophical system, including his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, as well as an examination of how it relates to astronomy, harmonics, element theory, astrology, cosmology, psychology, and theology, are presented in this ground-breaking book.
Ptolemy’s technical research in the physical and mathematical sciences contains connections to a sophisticated philosophical goal, which Jacqueline Feke unearths in this intriguing intellectual history. She demonstrates how he created a radical and subversive philosophy, stealing ideas from other philosophers and using them against them. Fake demonstrates how Ptolemy’s distinctive approach is both a critique of contemporary intellectual currents and a vision of a society where mathematics rules supreme.
Ptolemy’s Philosophy, a remarkable work of study, shows how Ptolemy placed mathematics at the core of all philosophy, both academic and practical, and promoted the mathematical way of life as the real road to human perfection.”
