Claudius Ptolemy was a philosopher and scientist who wrote on a wide range of subjects in 1st and 2nd century AD. His best-known work, the Almagest, discussed the solar system and postulated a geocentric model. He was also interested in geography, music, and astrology. Although many of his conclusions have been disproven, his work is still interesting to study as a model of a productive scientist with diverse interests during his time.
Claudius Ptolemy was a 1st and 2nd century AD philosopher and scientist, who produced numerous writings on a wide range of subjects. He was born in Egypt around 90 and may have lived as late as 168. Early in his life he became a Roman citizen, but researchers show that he conducted most of his work and his writings in Alexandria, Egypt .
Ptolemy wrote several major works. His best-known pamphlet today is the Almagest, which is a discussion of how the solar system works. Ptolemy postulated a geocentric model of the earth, in which the planets and the sun revolved around the earth. While this model was naturally discarded, a point of interest in the work was its assumption that the earth was spherical.
Ptolemy derived his work Almagest from the work of Hipparchus. Long after his death, scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton would accuse Ptolemy of plagiarism, suggesting that he could not have formulated his own theories about the universe. Plagiarism is a strong term given the time period in which Ptolemy lived. Copying someone’s work and adding your own additions was considered acceptable and flattering.
Ptolemy was also interested in geography, which was reflected in his work the Geographia. He has attempted to map the known world and has made some assumptions about previously unmapped areas. Although his map was one of the best of his time, it was clearly incorrect, as cartographers later discovered.
One of Ptolemy’s greatest achievements was his approximation of pi, which was the closest in its time period. He believed that the closest number to pi was the number 3.14166. The beginning of this number, 3.14, tends to be used in early school studies of the circumference and diameter of circles, so Ptolemy can be said to be at least partially right.
Ptolemy also wrote on art and music, especially the music of the spheres, which must be considered as a work based on that of Plato. His most popular work in his time was the Tetrabiblios, a collection of well-known reflections on astrology. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ptolemy did not simply believe in astrological reasons for human behavior.
Instead, Ptolemy posited what many students of human behavior would later conclude, that human behavior was dictated by a variety of influences. Place of birth, education, social structure and race could be considered influential. While the concept of race as a way of indicating behavior is clearly false, the theory that education is an influence was new at the time and clearly predates modern psychology by almost 1800 years.
Since many of Ptolemy’s conclusions have been disproven, it can be said that his work has not had a significant influence on modern thought. Regardless, it is still interesting to study as a model of a productive scientist with diverse interests during his time. Most of his work has been saved, although some lost strokes are referenced. However, it is difficult to find these works in translation.
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