Plato

Plato.

By

Plato was the best known of all the great Greek philosophers. Plato's

original name was Aristocles, but in his school days he was nicknamed Platon

(meaning "broad") because of his broad shoulders. Born in Athens circa B.C.

427, Plato sought out political status. But during the Athenian democracy, he did

not actively embrace it. Plato devoted his life to Socrates, and became his

disciple in B.C. 409. Plato was outraged when Socrates was executed by the

Athenian democrats in B.C. 399. He later left Athens convinced democracy

wouldn't make it.

Years after Plato roamed the Greek cities in Africa and Italy absorbing

philosophical knowledge and then returning to Athens in B.C. 387. There he later

created the first University on the ground of famous Greek Academus, which was

later called the Academy. He remained at the Academy for the remainder of his

life omitting 2 brief periods. He visited Syracuse and Greek Sicily to serve as a

tutor for the new king, Dionysis II. Which ended out very badly when the King

acted like a king, instead of a philosopher, perhaps Plato's worse student.

He later returned to Athens and died in his early 80's, circa B.C. 347.

Plato's work is arguably the most popular and influential of it's kind ever

published. His most popular work are transcripts, or dialogues between the great

Socrates and himself. These dialogues are the basis of our general knowledge

between Socrates' views and Plato's views.

Plato was much like Socrates, in that he was mostly interested in moral

philosophy and overlooked science [natural philosophy]. He considered the

natural science as an inferior knowledge, not worthy of his time.

Plato loved mathematics mainly