PLATO

PLATO

Here is a little background information for those of you that may be unfamiliar with ancient Greek philosophers. Three of the all time great names in philosophy are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in the order that they appeared on the stage of history.

Socrates never wrote anything. The only reason we know anything about him was that his most famous student, Plato, wrote about him. Socrates use to spend a lot of time in discussions with fellow Athenian citizens in the market place. He would ask questions and respond to answers given to him by following the implications of the reasoning used by those engaged in discussions.

At age 21 Plato used to listen to Socrates carrying on discussions in the Agora, the central market place in Athens. He became one of Socrates students for the next eight years, until the death of Socrates

Plato was born in May of the year 427 BC and died in 347 BC. His real name was Aristocles, but he was nicknamed Plato by his wrestling coach because Plato had broad shoulders, which is what the word ‘plato’ meant in Greek. He was an excellent athlete and completed in the Olympic games in Corinth. He was also in the Athenian army and fought in three major battles of the Peloponesian War and was several times decorated for bravery.

At the age of 29 Plato witnessed Socrates taken to trial on trumped up charges that he didn’t believe in the state gods (a capital offense in ancient Greece) and was also accused of corrupting the minds of Athenian youth by his teachings. At the end of the trial , Socrates was found guilty and sentenced to death by drinking hemlock, a poison. At that point, Plato was so disgusted with the cruelty and injustice of Athenian society that he left Greece and traveled in Italy and Egypt for the next ten years. Finally he returned to Athens and opened an academy for the research and discussion of ideas. Plato’s academy was the first university in the western world with classrooms, a faculty and a student body. One of Plato’s famous students was a young man named Aristotle, who came down to Athens from Macedonia to study under Plato’s direction. Aristotle stayed at the academy for about twenty years. Later he became the personal tutor for Alexander the Great, who expanded the Greek empire and culture all across the Middle East, North Africa and Persia.

Although Socrates and Plato were associated with one another for only eight years, they influenced the development of philosophy for the next 2000 years!

Plato wrote about Socrates and his ideas in these dialogues and in many others. He completed his major works by the time he was 40, but continued to teach and carry on discussions the rest of his life. At age 80 Plato was invited to the wedding of some friends, where he spent the evening dancing and drinking, then went home and died in his sleep.

 

 

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