Philomath

<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>
<p>The shift in meaning for <i>mathema</i> is likely a result of the rapid categorization during the time of <a href="/facts/Plato/jGtT1UD5">Plato</a> and <a href="/facts/Aristotle/U2bDlBFW">Aristotle</a> of their <i>mathemata</i> in terms of <a href="/facts/Education/WIwsQKF9">education</a>: <a href="/facts/Arithmetic/hvHwkbMV">arithmetic</a>, <a href="/facts/Geometry/wTQf5ffQ">geometry</a>, <a href="/facts/Astronomy/0ArJVM1p">astronomy</a>, and <a href="/facts/Music_theory/BoekvflP">music</a> (the <a href="/facts/Quadrivium/Qm48ab6G">quadrivium</a>), which the Greeks found to create a "natural grouping" of mathematical (in the modern usage; "<i>doctrina mathematica</i>" in the ancient usage) precepts.
</p><p>In a philosophical dialogue, <a href="/facts/James_VI_and_I/mcmPE59x">King James</a> penned the character Philomathes to debate on arguments of whether the ancient religious concepts of witchcraft should be punished in a politically fueled Christian society. The arguments King James poses through the character Epistemon are based on concepts of theological reasoning regarding society's belief, as his opponent, Philomathes, takes a philosophical stance on society's legal aspects but seeks to obtain the knowledge of Epistemon. This philosophical approach signified a philomath seeking to obtain greater knowledge through <a href="/facts/Epistemology/NsDwpcYH">epistemology</a>. The dialogue was used by King James to educate society on various concepts including the history and etymology of the subjects debated.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Benjamin_Franklin/Dmfv5URr">Benjamin Franklin</a>, who used this pen name</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philomath%2c_Oregon/sp4zFtlb">Philomath, Oregon</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philomathean_Literary_Society_(Erskine_College)/936hhvpM">Philomathean Literary Society (Erskine College)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philomathean_Society/or42PFnw">Philomathean Society</a>, a literary society at the University of Pennsylvania</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philomathean_Society_(New_York_University)/4hF03f0e">Philomathean Society (New York University)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Philomaths/Ca5u3ymx">Philomaths</a>, Polish secret student organization that existed, 1817–1823, at the Imperial University of Vilnius</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Look up <i>philomath</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

<ul><li><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/philomath">"philomath"</a>. <i>Dictionary.com</i>.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Philomath". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07.
 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210507072519/https://www.lexico.com/definition/philomath" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210507072519/https://www.lexico.com/definition/philomath</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>King James (2016) [1597]. Daemonologie (critical ed.). ISBN 1-5329-6891-4. <a href="1-5329-6891-4" target="_blank">1-5329-6891-4</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Philomath open-in-new

Philomath