Philolaus

Philolaus
Medieval woodcut by Franchino Gaffurio, depicting Pythagoras and Philolaus conducting musical investigations
Born	c. 470 BC
Died	c. 385 BC
Era	Pre-Socratic philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Pythagoreanism
Main interests	Metaphysics Astronomy
Notable ideas	Central Fire Counter-Earth discounting Geocentrism

Philolaus (/ˌfɪləˈleɪəs/; Ancient Greek: Φιλόλαος, Philólaos; c. 470 – c. 385 BC)^[1][2] was a Greek Pythagorean and pre-Socratic philosopher. He was born in a Greek colony in Italy and migrated to Greece. Philolaus has been called one of three most prominent figures in the Pythagorean tradition and the most outstanding figure in the Pythagorean school. Pythagoras developed a school of philosophy that was dominated by both mathematics and mysticism. Most of what is known today about the Pythagorean astronomical system is derived from Philolaus's views. He may have been the first to write about Pythagorean doctrine. According to August Böckh (1819), who cites Nicomachus, Philolaus was the successor of Pythagoras.^[3]

He argued that at the foundation of everything is the part played by the limiting and limitless, which combine in a harmony. With his assertions that the Earth was not the center of the universe (geocentrism), he is credited with the earliest known discussion of concepts in the development of heliocentrism, the theory that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, but rather that the Sun is. Philolaus discussed a Central Fire as the center of the universe and that spheres (including the Sun) revolved around it.