Plato: The Life of Plato Plato was born around 427 BC, in Athens Greece to rich and politically involved family. Plato's parents spared no expense in educating him; he was taught at the finest schools. He was taught by Socrates and defended Socrates when he was on trial. Plato traveled to Italy and may have even visited Egypt before founding The Academy. Plato also visited Sicily and instructed a young king there before returning to The Academy to teach for twenty years before his death in 347 BC at the age of eighty. Growing up Plato would have gone to best schools the area had to offer; his parents were rich there were no limitations to what they could afford. Plato was taught by the best teachers available and was a very skillful student. Like the majority of boys in ancient Greece Plato was taught to wrestle and fight and in both activities Plato excelled. Poems were also an activity Plato enjoyed; he wrote them quite often, unfortunately none of them survived because when Plato began studying under Socrates he burned all of the poems he had written to devote himself to philosophy. The first time we know of Plato meeting Socrates is when Plato is twenty; however because of Plato's parents' involvement with government, their family friends, and Plato's schooling Plato mostly likely met Socrates at a young age. There are several rumors that during the Peloponnesian war Plato not only fought but gained a few medals. While Plato was certainly capable of accomplishing these acts of bravery, yet it can not be known for sure as there is no proof. After the Peloponnesian War Sparta set up a government called the Thirty Tyrants, when the Thirty Tyrants were over-thrown Socrates was accused of several acts of treason. During Socrat... ... middle of paper ... ... surprised that Plato didn't love democracy and pushed for Utopia, but Plato had seen democracy at work in Athens and thought it a wretched idea. Bibliography Baggani, Julian and Jeremy Stangroom, eds. Great Thinkers A-Z. London: Continuum, 2004. Guthrie, W.K.C. A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol. IV; Plato: The Man and His Dialogues, Earlier Period. London: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Proffitt, Brian. Plato Within Your Grasp. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, 2004. Exploring Ancient World Cultures; Essays on Ancient Greece. Ed. Bernard F. Suzanne. 1996. 2 Feb. 2007. http://eawc.evansville.edu/eassays/suzanne.htm Plato and His Dialogues, A Short Biography of Plato. Ed. Bernard F. Suzanne. 2001. 2 Feb. 2007. http://plato-dialogues.org/life.htm Plato. Ed. J.J. O'Connor. 2005. 2 Feb. 2007. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/biographies/plato.html
Plato. Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube and C.D.C. Reeve. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997.
Plato, and G. M. A. Grube. "Phaedo." Five Dialogues. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 93-
Plato. The Republic. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 2nd ed. Michael L. Morgan. Indianapolis : Hackett Publishing Company, 1996. 32 - 246.
West, Grace S., Thomas West. Texts on Socrates: Plato and Aristophanes. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
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.
Plato. The Republic of Plato, 2nd edition. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
Soccio, Douglas J. "The Philosopher-King:Plato." Archetypes of Wisdom. 7th ed. Bellmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1995. 121+. Print.
Thesleff, Holger. "In Search of Dialogue." Plato's Dialogues: New Studies and Interpretations. Ed. Gerald A. Press. Lanham: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1993: 259-266.
Michel Serres, "Platonic Dialogue," Hermes, Literature, Science, Philosophy, ed. Josué V. Harari and David F., Bell (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), 67.
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.
The great philosopher, Plato, wrote two specific dialogues; the book Timaeus and the book Critias. Plato was a professional teacher who valued intelligence immensely. Plato founded the first Philosophical Academy in Athens in the early fourth century BC. He devoted his life to philosophy and the teachings of his friend Socrates. Plato learned from Socrates and passed on his knowledge to his students. After his friend's sudden death, Plato became dissatisfied with the government in Athens. He filtered away from his family and lived his dream of researching and teaching philosophy. Plato focused on many philosophical aspects and wrote numerous dialogues. In the book Timaeus, Plato spoke of the beginning of the world and the creation of living creatures. Plato believed the human body and soul were created with precise, divine planning.
"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. Translated by Martin Ostwasl, Edited and Introduced by Gregory Vlastos. 1956. Protagoras. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Born in Athens, Socrates (470-399 BCE) was the son of a wealthy sculptor. There he received the regular elementary education in literature, music, and gymnastics. Initially Socrates followed the craft of his father; he executed a statue group of the three Graces, which stood at the entrance to the Acropolis until the second century AD. During the Pelopennesian war he served as an infantryman.
...litical figure came close to challenging Socrates' unique philosophical plan. In the Republic, Socrates' ideas of how ignorant a democracy is, is portrayed in the Apology when Socrates' proclamation resulted in death. A democracy is supposed to be about individuality and freedom, however it was contradicted when Socrates was put to death because he had ideas for a better system of ruling. He wanted a ruler to be somebody who would see truth, not shunning certain ideas and keeping others solely because it is not understood. These ideas are portrayed in both excerpts.