David Pingree, professor of history of mathematics and classics at Brown University, will speak on the subject of magic and ritual April 8 at 4:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall.
Pingree, who has been an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell since 1995, will give a public lecture, "Magic, Science and Neoplatonic Philosophy," which discusses the development of a cult called the Harran that existed in Syria in the eighth and ninth centuries. Pingree will delve into how and when the followers of the Harran developed their unique practice of religious planetary worship, science, astronomy and astrology.
Astromagic and psychomagic are two types of beliefs that grew from the Harranis' blending of other cultures and ideologies, says Pingree. Their philosophy was based on an eclectic combination of Indian, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman, Syrian and other cultures. Pingree says their ideology was influential enough to spread to Europe, where it was even practiced by two of the founders of the Royal Society.
Among Pingree's specialties is the relations between Western and Indian cultures. Since the Harranis' philosophies drew from so many cultures between India and the Western world, Pingree says the study of their beliefs simply combines pieces of all his interests.
Christopher Minkowski, Cornell assistant professor of Asian studies and classics who is sponsoring the lecture, says Pingree's academic work in the history of ancient astronomy, mathematics and magic has set the standard for his field.
Pingree is a recipient of the Guggenheim and MacArthur awards, was selected as junior fellow at Harvard University's Society of Fellows and was elected to the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in classics and Sanskrit from Harvard in 1960. Since then he has held professorships at the University of Chicago and Brown, where he is chair of the history of mathematics department.
The Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large program was started in 1965 in honor of Cornell's first president, who expressed concern over the university's remoteness from the cultural and intellectual stimulation of large urban centers. Participants are chosen for their prominence in diverse disciplines and are appointed for six-year terms with an obligation to spend at least two weeks at Cornell in each of their two three-year periods.
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