The Philosopher Par Excellence

The Greek philosopher and polymath, Plato, who is also referred to as the father of idealism in political philosophy, is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy.

Following is a panoramic view of the life of this great pupil who became the recognition of his teacher and mentor, Socrates.

Birth & Family
Plato was born in Athens or Aegina around 428 BCE. Both of his parents came from the Greek aristocracy. Plato’s father, Ariston, descended from the kings of Athens and Messenia. His mother, Perictione, was related to the Greek statesman Solon.

Real Name
Plato was named for his grandfather, Aristocles. Some historians claim that ‘Plato’ was a nickname, referring to his broad physical build.

Education
Plato studied under some of the most brilliant minds in his time. His early education came from the school of Dionysius. Later, he studied philosophy under Cratylus. He also spent time studying with Theodorus, Euclides, Hermogenes Eurytus, Philolaus, and Parmenides.

Plato & Socrates
Plato became a student of Socrates at the age of twenty. He became very close to his teacher. Their association continued until Socrates was executed in 399 BC. At that time, Plato was 30 years old.

Plato after Socrates
Plato travelled for 12 years throughout the Mediterranean region. He studied mathematics with the Pythagoreans in Italy and geometry, geology, astronomy and religion in Egypt. During this time, or soon after, he began his extensive writing.

Founding the Academy
Plato founded the Academy, of which Aristotle was a pupil, in a grove sacred to the demigod Academus, near Athens around 387 BC. He presided over the Academy until his death. The Academy operated till 529 AD after which it was closed, thinking it was a threat to Christianity.

His Pupils
Plato had for his pupils many of the celebrities of the century: the orators Demosthenes and Hyperides; the philosophers Speusippus, Xenocrates, and Aristotle; the great geometer and astronomer Eudoxus.

Death
Plto died in Athens in 347 BCE in his early eighties.

Works
The Socratic Dialogues:
This group of dialogues deals with the common theme of virtue and whether or not it can be taught. It includes the Gorgias, Meno, Euthyphro, Apology and Crito. The last three are centered on the trial and execution of Socrates. The Euthyphro deals with correct behavior towards the gods, the Apology is about Socrates’ activity as a teacher, and the Crito focuses on the duty of loyalty to the state.

Phaedo:
It deals with the immortality of the soul.

Symposium:
It discusses eros, true beauty and the life of contemplation.

Protagoras:
It is basically on the nature of the good, the nature of virtue, and the association of knowledge with goodness.

Republic:
Perhaps Plato’s greatest work, it is on the nature of right conduct and the ideal political state. It includes Plato’s description of the ideal city-state as led by the philosopher-king and the famous allegory of the cave, in which humans see only the shadows of real things (the Forms) and mistake the shadows for the things themselves.

Phaedrus:
It is about persuasion and eros and how they related to perception of the Forms.
Theatetus: It is on the nature of knowledge.

Parmenides:
It is on the relationship between opposites such as likeness and unlikeness, the one and the many, expounded by the Eleatic philosophers.
Sophistes and Politicus (Statesman): The former is on metaphysics and the latter on politics.

Philebus:
It is on pleasure and the good life. The conclusion is that the goodness of something lies in the unity of beauty, symmetry and truth.

Timaeus:
This is a monologue on cosmology and science.
Laws, a speech of the “Athenian Stranger” on politics: This is the longest of the dialogues.