Hypatia of Alexandria
Essay title: Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria was born in 370 A.D. (although some discrepancies show that she may have actually been born around 355 A.D.). What little is known of her life has come from letters and correspondences, since all of her work had been burned shortly after her death.
Her father was Theon, a well-known mathematician and philosopher. It is argued that he may be one of the most educated men to come out of Alexandria. he raised Hypatia in an environment of culture and learning. He wanted to raise her as “the perfect human being”. Theon formed a strong bond with his daughter at an early age, and taught her all that he knew of religion, philosophy, the maths, and sciences. He also made a point to keep Hypatia in top Physical shape.
Hypatia surpassed her fathers knowledge at a very early age, and in 400 A.D, she became the head of the Platonist School of Alexandria. This school she taught mathematics, science, and philosophy.
She based most of her teachings on the works of Plotinus, who was the father of Neo-Platonism. They both believed in the ultimate reality, which states that the true reality of life lies beyond the reach of thought or language. They believed that the object in ones life should be to strive to reach the ultimate reality, even though it was believed that people do not have the mental capacity to fully understand the ultimate reality or the consequences of its existence.
Some of Hypatias Philosophical views also include:
All formal Dogmatci 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 to not think at all
To teach superstitions as truth is the most terrible