Plato Was A Great Philosopher

Most of the information that we learn about Socrates comes from the work and writings of one of his students, Plato. It has been alleged that the great Philosopher wrote nothing down for others to read, and as such, the knowledge and the teachings from Socrates that is relied upon to convey his philosophy and the epic story of his life comes not from himself, but his students who attempt to provide and accurate picture of the methods and philosophical beliefs held by their mentor and teacher.

Born in Athens in 437 B.C, Greek philosopher Plato is one of the most powerful thinkers in history. Coming from Greek aristocracy, Plato had political ambitions as a young man and appeared to follow the family tradition. However, Socrates and his dialectical method of inquiry, which was to question and answer everything to show ignorance, soon captivated Plato.

Plato was a philosopher who was born in Athens (470-390 BCE), and was also a student of Socrates. He felt that intelligence and one’s perception belonged to completely independent realms or realities. He believed that general concepts of knowledge were predestined, or placed in the soul before birth even occurred in living things. Plato believed that the cosmos was intelligible, and the the universe was mathematically understandable. He believes that mathematical objects could be seen as perfect forms. Forms, a doctoral of Plato, can be understood as an everyday object or idea, which does not, exists in the everyday realm, but merely is existent in the hypothetical realm or reality.

George Boas’ article include many important dates and facts about Plato early life and how they all contributed to his literature works. According to Boas, Plato had a father name Ariston and his father was dead at the time of Socrates’s trial (440). Plato was born on the first year of 88th Olympiad, on the seventh day of Thargelion. Dated to be on May 22, 427 B.C. (442). His birth place was assumed to be in Aegina, Athens according to Boas only source of findings. Plato was first name Aristocles and later changed to Plato by his gymnastic teacher because of his

Plato was born in Athens, Greece around 427 B.C. He was always interested in politics, until he witnessed his mentor and teacher, Socrates, death. After learning of the callousness of politics, Plato changed his mind and eventually opened up The Academy, which is considered if not the first, one of the first Universities. Students at the Academy studied many different fields of science, including biological and astronomical. The students also studied many other fields, such as math. Plato developed many views that were mathematical in nature. He expressed these views through his writings. According to Dr. Calkins of Andrew University, "Timaeus is probably the most renowned of Plato's thirty-five dialogues. [In it] Plato expresses that he

Biographical information: Plato was one of the earliest ancient Greek philosophers who lived from 427 to 347 B.C. He was a student of Socrates, who was also a prominent Greek philosopher at that time. Socrates had a massive influence on Plato, who called him “the most upright man of that day” (The Seventh Letter). Plato adopted his philosophy and dedicated his studies to formation of a noble character. Born in Athens to a family of aristocrats, Plato attained an exceptional education, most likely taught by notable educators such as Pythagoras and Parmenides.

Socrates; the founder of Western Philosophy, the first user of the Socratic method and Socratic irony, contributor to the field of ethics, and martyr for teaching what he thought was right. Indeed, Socrates is a household name, yet the picture many hold of Socrates may not be true to who Socrates actually was. Socrates considered himself a teacher and a thinker, not a writer, thus he wrote none of his teachings or thoughts down. As a consequence, the only surviving accounts of Socrates come second hand from his pupils, Plato and Xenophon, and from the playwright Aristophanes. However, it is difficult to tell how much of the Socrates depicted in the works of those men is embellishment or outright fabrication, and how much is truth. This problem, the Socratic Problem, has been troubling historians and philosophers for centuries, and will go on doing so. While the real Socrates may never be known, Socrates the character may be studied extensively through the works of his pupils. Plato’s Symposium depicts Socrates in an informal setting, getting drunk with friends, and offers an opportunity to see Socrates’ character and personality more clearly. While Symposium is set at a party, Socrates is still shown to be a larger-than-life, idealized character, who may have been too brilliant and perfect to be true.

To learn about the past, people in today’s society often consult the internet or history books. To an extent, all we know about the past is from what we have read or heard, so what is actually truth, and what is just a captivating story. Scholars believe that some people from history are just made up to portray ideals or tell a story with an important message. Socrates was a real man, but some scholars believe that some of Socrates’ beliefs are truly just Plato, his student, writing things and saying that Socrates believed in them. The world today has virtually no idea whether Socrates believed everything that is recorded in Plato’s Republic. Socrates, as portrayed in Plato’s Republic, is extremely intriguing because of the way he communicates with people with his sarcasm and use of his Socratic method to teach.

Plato, in addition to being a philosopher, wrestled at the Olympic level, is one of the classical Greek authors, mathematicians and the founder of The Academy, the first higher learning institute in the west. In short, Plato is one of the great thinkers in history and his contributions to philosophy, ethics and politics are many and varied. One of Plato’s main philosophical ideas is based on the idea that the world

Plato was born into an aristocratic family and later became a disciple of Socrates, eventually witnessing the philosopher 's execution in 399BC, he feared for his safety and went travelling to Italy and Egypt. He returned to Athens after his travels and founded the first European university, the Academy. There, astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics and philosophy were taught, with Aristotle as the most famous student. He also compared the state and the individual, stating they both consisted of three parts: the desiring, the spirited and the rational. If they are all in harmony but ruled by the rational you have justice. He went further to construct many statements that have been quoted throughout history in reference to issues of the times, one being ‘ The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men’

The most influential philosopher of the 5th century BCE is a man by the name of Socrates. His life and teachings are the foundation of Western Philosophy. Socrates was dedicated to reasoning and the development and investigation of the truth. Unpopular then, Socrates employed a strategy to pursue the truth by using dialectic. Socrates was one to question everything and anything less than the truth was received with more questions. Socrates never wrote anything down, and therefore any dialogues and teachings are dependent on his students Xenophon and Plato account. This gives rise to the Socratic Problem. What we do know, according to Plato’s Apology, is that Socrates’ divine mission is a complex one. Using two of Plato’s written accounts of

Plato was a philosopher and educator in ancient Greece. He was one of the most important thinkers and writers in the history of Western culture. Plato was born in Athens into a family that was one of the oldest and most distinguished in the city. His father Ariston died when Plato was only a child. The name Plato was a nickname meaning broad shoulders. Plato's real name was Aristocles. Plato had aspirations of becoming a politician, however these hopes were destroyed when his friend Socrates was sentenced to death in 299 B.C. Extremely hurt Plato left Athens and traveled for several years. In 387 B.C., Plato returned to Athens and founded a school of philosophy and science that became known as the Academy. Topics such as astronomy,

Plato was among the most important and creative thinkers of the ancient world. He was born in Athens in 428 BC to an aristocratic and well-off family. Even as a young child Plato was familiar with political life because his father, Ariston was the last king of Athens. Ariston died when Plato was a young boy. However, the excessive Athenian political life, which was under the oligarchical rule of the Thirty Tyrants and the restored democracy, seem to have forced him to give up any ambitions of political life. In 388 BC he journeyed to Italy and Sicily, where he became the friend of Dionysius the ruler of Syracuse, and his brother-in-law Dion. The following year he returned to Athens, where he devoted his

Growing up in Athens, Greece in around 420 B.C., Plato was born into the perfect place for a young philosophizing man such as himself. He was well educated from an early age, showing a proclivity for music, writing, and gymnastics. (Diogenes). Young Plato, much like many boys in their teenage

Socrates did this to show them the difference between truth and what they felt to be true; he would help them see the truth despite their ideas possibly being incorrect 9 (Ethics for life, 13). Most of the time people would not be able to stand firm on their beliefs 10(Britannica). This brought hatred toward Socrates. Eventually they tried Socrates, found him guilty of impiety and demeaning the youth, and executed him in 399 BCE. The reason why the Greeks thought Socrates was corrupting the youth is because he said the gods of Greece were unreliable and lacking 11(Ancient). Plato was emotionally affected by the life and death of Socrates. Socrates work influence Plato so much, he surrounded himself with members of Socrates and became a member himself. Plato’s work was generally stated as “Socratic”, because of how similar his work was to Socrates 12(Britannica).