Plato Philosophy and his Influence

Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Writer, Famous for Republic

Oct 7, 2008

Life and works of Greek philosopher Plato, founder of the Academy in Athens, teacher of Aristotle.

Educated by Socrates, Plato later founded the first institution of higher learning, the "Academy" in Athens. A Greek mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogue and mentor of Aristotle, Plato is considered to have had the greatest influence in philosophy history. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western philosophy.

Family Life of Plato

Plato was born in Athens, Greece. Scholars estimate that he was born c. 428/427 BC and died C. 348/347 BC. His father was Ariston and mother was Perictione, whose family was supposedly related to the Athenian poet and famous lawmaker Solon.

Plato's Theory of Material Forms

It can be difficult to characterize such huge and comprehensive canon of thought. However, much of Plato's work revolves around his conception of a realm of ideal forms. He claims that the world of experience is illusory, since only the eternal and unchanging are real, an idea he borrowed from Parmenides.

According to Plato, although there are many individual horses, cats and dogs, they are all made in the image of the one universal for 'the horse,' 'the dog,' and so on. Likewise, just as there are many men, they are all made in the image of the universal 'form of man.' The influence of this idea was later on perpetuated which led to a direct influence on Christian theology, in which man is made in the image of God.

Theory Extended in Abstract Forms

Plato's theory of the material forms was not restrictive, rather, extended to abstract concepts like beauty, truth and mathematical concepts, including number and class. Today, mathematical Platonism is endorsed by both Frege and Gödel. Plato's best known work, Republic, covers his theory of forms.

Plato's Utopian Society

His Utopian society is led by an elite class of guardians trained from birth for the task of ruling. The rest of society consists of soldiers and the common people. Plato claims that the ideal society understands how talents can best be used for the benefit of the society as a whole. The guardians control everything for the good of the society. Critics, among them, Bertrand Russell, accuse Plato of elitism and a totalitarian rule under the guise of communist or socialist principles.

Plato's Republic is an attempt to align with his theory of forms, in order to discover an ideal form of society. And more importantly, that such a society would be fair to all its citizens. Scholars have been divided whether Plato's republic is ideal or not.

Books by Plato

Sources:

Illustrated Biographical Dictionary, edited by John Clark, Chancellor Press, 1994

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