Biography of Plato

Biography of Plato

Trouble Carter

PHL/215

Oct 15, 2016

Donald Savell

INTRODUCTION

Plato was born in Athens in 427 BC to a well-established aristocratic family.  His father, Ariston, could trace his lineage back to the old kings of Athens; his mother, Perictione, was a sister of Charmides and the cousin of Critas, two prominent figures in the Athenian oligarchy of 404-403 BC.   Plato also had two brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus, who are portrayed in his masterpiece, The Republic. Only a few years before Plato was born, Athens entered into a drawn-out war with Sparta (the Peloponnesian War), that eventually led to the decline of Athens’ power in the Mediterranean world.  Although he grew up during Athens’ great experiment with democracy during the Fifth Century, it was certainly evident at this time that democracy was failing, and that some other type of political system was needed. Around the age of twenty, he became a disciple of Socrates, the father of Western philosophy.  Socrates made it his mission to examine the beliefs of his fellow Athenians in order to help them and himself attain wisdom.  

Life After Athens

 He left Athens and for the next twelve years traveled around the Mediterranean, studying philosophy, geometry, religion, and other sciences.  During this period, Plato was also invited to Syracuse, where he became friendly with Dion, the bother-in-law of Dionysius, the tyrant of the city. Eventually Plato returned to Athens in 387 to found his Academy, the aim of which was to philosophically educate the future leaders of Greek society.  The Academy has been called the first European university, since its studies included, not just philosophy, but all the known sciences (Cross, 1964).  Plato himself was said to have delivered many of the lectures at the Sophia Omni Academy.    

Plato’s Dialogue

Most of Plato’s philosophical writing takes the form of dialogues.  These dialogues were written for educated laymen in order to interest them in philosophy. Plato’s dialogues are philosophical discussions between two or more participants usually focus on a specific theme:  e.g., justice, friendship, piety. They are written for the most part like regular conversations, which often include digressions and frequently are inconclusive. Plato’s dialogues are not just great works of philosophy; they are also recognized as great literary works as well.  

Plato’s Analogies

  The highly abstract nature of Plato’s theory has probably frustrated students since he first developed it.  Perhaps recognizing this, in the Republic Plato resorts to using three analogies to illuminate his philosophy.  A brief examination of these analogies is definitely in order before examining Plato’s discussion of them in the Republic. In the first of these analogies, Plato compares the Form of the Good with the sun (Annas, 1981). Just as the sun provides the light that is necessary for us to see things in the sensible realm, so does the Form of the Good provide the intellectual light that enables us to know the Forms. Plato’s Form of the Good, then, is the ultimate principle of reality and truth and is the source of all order, harmony, beauty and intelligibility in the universe.  The Two World’s Theory lays the foundation for understanding the two realms of reality—the sensible world and the world of the forms—that are at the heart of Plato’s metaphysics (Annas, 1981).  

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