The world has had great and brilliant thinkers who stood apart as greats of all time. Among these great thinkers and writers, the philosopher Plato stands tall. These writers and thinkers played an integral role when it comes to influencing the contemporary thinking of man and how people perceive daily phenomenon. Apparently, these individuals shaped the way people approach different world phenomenon. This has been helpful in understanding the reasons behind these happenings as well as the nature of human beings. This paper, therefore, will explore the life of Plato in details.
Early Life and Education
Looking at the way people think of philosophy, the nature of the whole and the situation of man, one comes to understand how imperative the
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Plato would later study philosophy, gymnastics, and poetry with the help of Athenian teachers. At this period of time, a teacher and a great thinker, Socrates was teaching his ideas. As such, Plato became interested in the teaching of Socrates and a true follower. Socrates was convicted of corrupting many Athenians youths in this period and one of these young minds was Plato, who was a strong believer in the teachings of Socrates. Later, Plato would use Socrates’ style of relentless questioning and ideas in his dialogues which helped him succeed Socrates, who by the time of his demise left not even a single written work (Brown & Eric 45). As such, Plato’s work came to be seen as a huge representation of the ideas of his teacher, …show more content…
As a result, Plato had to start a journey through the Mediterranean for almost twelve years. Notably, he visited the southern part of Italy, Egypt, and Sicily. The journey was helpful for him because he was studying with other philosophers. Additionally, Plato began a long relationship with the then ruling family in Sicily, the Syracuse family. Later, this family asked for Plato’s advice when it wanted to change their city’s politics. Later, Plato would return to Athens at the age of forty (Mark &Joshua 35). He founded his philosophical academy school outside the city walls. He was then ready to impart knowledge to other young minds as had done Socrates prior to his death. Plato gave lectures to many students from Athens and others outside Athens (Annas & Julia 24). Ideally, the majority of his teachings seemed to have originated from the teachings which he had learned before his twelve-years
Although, Plato’s Republic seems to be a philosophy of long ago, many of his ideas are still relevant in our society in ways we do not even realize. They show that man, left to his own thoughts outside of God, basically comes back to the same point or thought
Through time there have been a number of great philosophers, John Locke, Rene Descartes, Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, that positively impacted and changed the world’s way of thinking. Plato lived from about 428 BC until 347 BC in which he wrote over twenty six dialogues, including the Apology, Crito, and Euthyphro (Source 2). Socrates introduced ethics, the study of what people should do, instead of analyzing what people do like the other philosophers of that time period (Source 4). Socrates did not believe he was a teacher to anyone, therefore it is said Plato studied with Socrates for about ten years and was not a student of his (Source 2). Due to the fact there is no written record directly from Socrates, what is known about him comes primarily from Plato’s dialogues (Source 4). The Apology is Plato’s account of the dialect Socrates used to defend himself at his indictment trial and conviction.
... middle of paper ... ... By examining Plato’s use of themes as well as a modern-day comparison to the allegory, one can best grasp the concept of knowledge and how the Sun and our senses guide our education. The concept of our knowledge being a result of our surroundings in the world, rather than a text book, is simply fascinating.
Socrates (470-399 BC) was a credited philosopher born in the city of Athens to father Sophroniscus and mother Phaenarete. Despite his world-renowned contributions, he did not leave any written accounts of his life. His story was taught through the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, along with Aristotle and Aristophanes in various forms of dramatic texts and histories. Among others, Plato wrote many dialogues that quoted Socrates’ exact words. Much of what we know comes from this greatly influenced student. However, Plato being a literary artist, leads many to think that he brightened up Socrates’ teachings as a result of his positive bias. For this reason, much of his history remains uncertain.
Plato, author of the Phaedo, was the second member of the brilliant philosophical flourish of ancient Athens that began with Socrates, continued through him and then culminated with Aristotle. Thou...
In this paper I will give an in depth analysis of Socrates argument in Plato’s Republic and in Plato’s Phaedo. First I will begin with the analysis of the Republic, a discussion between Socrates and Glaucon on morality of the human being. The argument first defines morality within a good community and proceeds with the application of this definition in the human person. Then I shall analysis Phaedo, Socrates argument of immortality of the soul. Using his argument of death, reincarnation, change and invisibility, I shall explain Socrates rejoice of death.
"Plato." Literature of the Western World, Volume 1. 5th edition by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. 1197-1219.
Plato, like Pythagoras, believes that knowledge of pure Forms and of “Being” is the direct path to someone living a life of salvation and of the highest quality. Plato, like Pythagoras, also believed that all of the forms are geometric figures and mathematical in nature. Also, Plato, like Heraclitus, believed that our world is constantly changing, or in a constant flux. Plato, also agreed with Parmenides, who believed that the real world is not the same as the world of our experience.
Aristotle was the student under Plato. He came to Plato’s Academy at the age of 18 and stayed for 20 years until the death of Plato. He went to northern Greece and taught Alexander the Great. After educating Alexander, he returned to Athens and set up his own school, the Lyceum. Aristotle placed more emphasis on the physical world than did Plato. He wrote works on biology, physics, astronomy, just to name a few. But, he is also renowned for his ethical and political theories. He thought the highest good for people was a virtuous life. By thinking this, he promoted the doctrine of the Golden Mean.
Plato started his teachings in remembrance of his good friend, Socrates. After his death he traveled back to Italy and studied under Pythagoras. Some years later he began "The Academy". Much of the curriculum taught was dedicated to the teachings of Socrates. During this time he began to write down his thoughts about politics and development of a regime. Developing different aspects than Socrates'.
If we consider Plato’s ideas abstractions, we shall never grasp his meaning. But if we think of how a great artist sometimes manages to catch the vital meaning of an event on his canvas, we are coming closer to Plato’s theory. Take another example, how many of us have known someone for years when, suddenly, when one day something happens, and we see him for the first time as a “real person.” His personality has become alive and full of meaning in a way, which has nothing to do with his appearance or his attitude. Our two minds seem to look directly at one another. We feel we have a real contact with that person.
Still innocent and so naïve, the common human consciousness slowly began to raise itself, giving birth thereat to great men, who will forever remain in the hearts of the “consecrated”. One of those great men was Plato.
Plato adopted many ideas from his mentor Socrates but also collected some ideals from the influential people of his time such as Homer and Heraclitus. Like Socrates, Plato dealt with matters of morals
Both Plato and Aristotle are among the most influential philosophers in the history. Socrates was another famous philosopher who greatly influenced Plato. Plato was the pupil of Socrates and later Plato became the teacher of Aristotle. Although Aristotle followed his teachings for a long time, he found many questionable facts in his teachings and later on became a great critic of Plato’s teachings. Since Aristotle found faults in Plato, hence their work is easily comparable as it is based on the common aspects of philosophy. In this paper I will first explain some similarities and then I shall explain the differences between the theories of Plato and Aristotle.
Plato is one of the most important people in the history of Philosophy. Throughout his life, he had made many contributions to the world of philosophy, but the most important contribution that he is most known for is his theory of the Ideas or Forms. Throughout his many works such as the Phaedo and Symposium, he presented his theory of Ideas by using both mythos and logos in his argument for support.