Difference between revisions of "Plato"

Latest revision as of 20:37, January 31, 2025

Raphael's depiction of Plato in The School of Athens.

Plato was the father of Western philosophy, a great Greek philosopher who lived from 428 to 347 BC. His family name was Aristocles. He was a friend of Socrates and founded the Academy, where Plato taught his philosophy, which entailed many separate disciplines.

Plato had an immense positive influence on early Christians. Saint Augustine said, “The utterance of Plato, the most pure and bright in all philosophy, scattering the clouds of error ....”^[1] Plato's influence on early Christian thinkers included:

an afterlife with a heaven as absolute truth, such that we remain conscious after our physical death;^[2]
the rejection of materialism and atheism;^[3]
the division of the soul from the body, with the soul closer to truth and good;
acceptance of the intelligent design of the universe.

St. Augustine was able to build on Plato's work in order to understand the compatibility of faith, which is unique to Christianity, and reason.

Influence

Plato is one of the half-dozen most influential philosophers in world history, and his work is studied today in every philosophy department. Plato's most famous work is The Republic. One of Plato's pupils was Aristotle, an equally important philosopher with a philosophy that grew out of Plato's school.

Platonism influenced Greco-Roman culture after Plato's time and was the most important philosophical influence upon the early Christian philosophers who sought to understand and defend biblical teaching.^[4]

Style

Plato's works are different from the majority of philosophical works in style and structure. He wrote dialogs which combined elements of both Greek tragedy and philosophy. His works are conversational dramas filled with irony and 'hidden' content which only the experienced reader will recognize and understand. And he did not write explicit treatises, instead slowly and indirectly revealing his ideas over the course of dozens of dialogues written across the course of his life through the words of his characters.

Plato's allegory of the cave

Plato bust

Plato had his character Socrates present the myth of the cave in The Republic. The Plato's allegory of the cave explores the nature of reality, truth, and knowledge.

In this myth there are men chained in a cave, with a fire somewhere behind them casting light and shadows on the walls in front of them. They cannot turn their heads and may only gaze upon these shadows. The prisoners establish a primitive social order in which respect is granted to those who can correctly predict which shape the flames random gyrations will next be projected onto the wall. In the myth one of these prisoners is set free, and eventually finds his way out of the cave into the realm of the sun and truth. In Socrates' thought experiment of a myth this freed man is then forced to return to the cave, where he tries to tell his companions of the truth he has seen, which they can only understand as the ravings of a madman.

Articles and videos

Article:

Allegory of the cave, University of Notre Dame
The Allegory of The Cave – Summary of Plato
Leading Out of the Cave: How Plato's Allegory of the Cave Relates to Modern Leadership

Video:

Plato's Allegory of the Cave - video playlist, video playlist

The Soul

Plato had his characters take the existence of the human soul on faith, following the example of Socrates, who believed in the soul because a benevolent spirit spoke directly to his. In the Phaedo Socrates tells a myth where only as disembodied souls can we possess true knowledge of the Forms. The soul in a human body cannot obtain true knowledge due to the body's failings and distractions. However, by study of philosophy one can regain the path to the true knowledge of the Forms, and prepare oneself for the realm to come after death.

Quotes

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.

Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments.

List of Works

Early

Apology
Charmides
Crito
Euthyphro
First Alcibiades
Hippias Major
Hippias Minor
Ion
Laches
Lysis

Middle

Cratylus
Euthydemus
Gorgias
Menexenus
Meno
Parmenides
Phaedo
Phaedrus
Protagoras
The Republic
Symposium
Theaetetus

Late

Timaeus
Critias
Sophist
Statesman
Philebus
Laws

References

↑ https://blog.logos.com/2013/11/plato-christianity-church-fathers/
↑ Philippians 1:23.
↑ https://creation.com/plato-and-christianity
↑ Turner, William (1911). "Plato and Platonism". The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company), vol. 12. Retrieved from New Advent on September 19, 2014.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Plato''' was a great [[Greek philosopher]] from 428 to 347 BC.  He was a student of [[Socrates]] and founded the Academy, a school bereft of buildings wherein Plato taught his students math, logic, and the tenants of Sophitic thought. He wrote the [[Republic]], and its logical sequel, [[The Laws]], as well as a large number of other, less popular works in which he showed (amongst other things) how to teach [[geometry]] to [[slaves]], how to irritate [[sophists]], and how everything in the world is made of triangles.  One of Plato's pupils was [[Aristotle]], who went on to greatly influence Aquinas, and much of the [[Magesterium]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Although Plato cannot be described as a theist, he was a major influence on early Christian teachings, and there is notably similarity between his philosophy- [[The Form of the Good]], the [[soul]], and so on, and the most fundamental theistic beliefs.
+[[Image:Raphael.jpg|right|thumb|Raphael's depiction of Plato in '''The School of Athens'''.]]
+'''Plato''' was the father of Western philosophy, a great [[Greek philosopher]] who lived from 428 to 347 BC. His family name was Aristocles. He was a friend of [[Socrates]] and founded the Academy, where Plato taught his philosophy, which entailed many separate disciplines.
-Plato also created the allegory of the cave. In this story there are a group of individuals chained in a cave with a fire to their backs. They cannot turn their heads and may only gaze upon the shadows reflecting off the cave walls. The prisoners establish a primitive social order in which respect is granted to those who can correctly predict which (completly random) shape will next be projected onto the wall. One day someone escapes and, after a long and ardous struggle symbolising how difficult and uncomfortable it can be for Man to practice philosophy and profoundly reconsider the world around him, observes the real world. He returns to tell his companions of his amazing discovery only to be refuted and disbelieved by the cave dwellers, who cannot even comprehend what he is trying to tell them, and prefer to play their shadow games. Further hurting his credibility, having been in the light he finds it difficult to operate in the dim cave and appears clumsy, and completly unable to perceive the shadows- he has no social status and is ostracised as a literal 'outsider'. In this Plato illustrates the supposed futility of shallow living and paying heed to traditional and social convention, and proposes that Man must strive out on his own to gain true knowledge.
+Plato had an immense positive  influence on early [[Christians]].  [[Saint Augustine]] said, “The utterance of Plato, the most pure and bright in all philosophy, scattering the clouds of error ....”<ref>https://blog.logos.com/2013/11/plato-christianity-church-fathers/</ref>  Plato's influence on early Christian thinkers included:
+*an afterlife with a heaven as absolute truth, such that we remain conscious after our physical death;<ref>Philippians 1:23.</ref>
+*the rejection of [[materialism]] and [[atheism]];<ref>https://creation.com/plato-and-christianity</ref>
+*the division of the soul from the body, with the soul closer to truth and good;
+*acceptance of the [[intelligent design]] of the universe.
+St. Augustine was able to build on Plato's work in order to understand the compatibility of [[faith]], which is unique to [[Christianity]], and reason.
+==Influence==
+Plato is one of the half-dozen most influential philosophers in world history, and his work is studied today in every philosophy department.  Plato's most famous work is [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''The Republic'']]. One of Plato's pupils was [[Aristotle]], an equally important philosopher with a philosophy that grew out of Plato's school.
+Platonism influenced Greco-Roman culture after Plato's time and was the most important philosophical influence upon the early Christian philosophers who sought to understand and defend biblical teaching.<ref>Turner, William (1911).  [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12159a.htm "Plato and Platonism"].  ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York: Robert Appleton Company), vol. 12.  Retrieved from New Advent on September 19, 2014.</ref>
+==Style==
+Plato's works are different from the majority of philosophical works in style and structure. He wrote dialogs which combined elements of both Greek tragedy and philosophy. His works are conversational dramas filled with irony and 'hidden' content which only the experienced reader will recognize and understand. And he did not write explicit treatises, instead slowly and indirectly revealing his ideas over the course of dozens of dialogues written across the course of his life through the words of his characters.
+==Plato's allegory of the cave==
+[[Image:Plato bust.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Plato bust]]
+Plato had his character Socrates present the myth of the cave in [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''The Republic'']]. The Plato's allegory of the cave explores the nature of reality, [[truth]], and [[knowledge]].
+In this myth there are men chained in a cave, with a fire somewhere behind them casting light and shadows on the walls in front of them. They cannot turn their heads and may only gaze upon these shadows. The prisoners establish a primitive social order in which respect is granted to those who can correctly predict which shape the flames random gyrations will next be projected onto the wall. In the myth one of these prisoners is set free, and eventually finds his way out of the cave into the realm of the sun and truth. In Socrates' thought experiment of a myth this freed man is then forced to return to the cave, where he tries to tell his companions of the truth he has seen, which they can only understand as the ravings of a madman.
+=== Articles and videos ===
+Article:
+*[https://philolibrary.crc.nd.edu/article/allegory-of-the-cave/ Allegory of the cave], University of Notre Dame
+*[https://orionphilosophy.com/allegory-of-the-cave-summary-plato/ The Allegory of The Cave – Summary of Plato]
+*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leading-out-cave-how-platos-allegory-relates-modern-leadership-tutel Leading Out of the Cave: How Plato's Allegory of the Cave Relates to Modern Leadership]
+Video:
+*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbjmSS6LZDGrf5utDg89Nx2IFDdJ0wqkM Plato's Allegory of the Cave - video playlist], video playlist
 ==The Soul==
-Plato argued that there was sufficient evidence for a soul in his texts. He believed that only soul could ever have knowledge of the Forms, and it is in the polluted human body that could never obtain knowledge due to its use of sense-perception as the sole means of 'knowledge' that the soul (or mind) is unable to recall all the detail of the Forms, and so it was only through sense-perception that the soul was able to recall the Forms and hence the mind obtain knowledge. Souls had existed outside of time along with the Forms which is why they were able to recall the detail.
+Plato had his characters take the existence of the human soul on faith, following the example of Socrates, who believed in the soul because a benevolent spirit spoke directly to his. In the ''[[Phaedo]]'' Socrates tells a myth where only as disembodied souls can we possess true knowledge of the Forms. The soul in a human body cannot obtain true knowledge due to the body's failings and distractions. However, by study of philosophy one can regain the path to the true knowledge of the Forms, and prepare oneself for the realm to come after death.
+== Quotes ==
+<blockquote>
+''Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical [[exercise]] save it and preserve it.''
+</blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+''[[Music]] gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.''
+</blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+''As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.''
+</blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+''Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in [[governments]].''
+</blockquote>
+==List of Works==
+===Early===
+*''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology]]''
+*''Charmides''
+*''Crito''
+*''[[Euthyphro]]''
+*''First Alcibiades''
+*''Hippias Major''
+*''Hippias Minor''
+*''Ion''
+*''Laches''
+*''Lysis''
+===Middle===
+*''Cratylus''
+*''Euthydemus''
+*''Gorgias''
+*''Menexenus''
+*''Meno''
+*''Parmenides''
+*''[[Phaedo]]''
+*''Phaedrus''
+*''Protagoras''
+*''[[The Republic (Philosophy)|The Republic]]''
+*''Symposium''
+*''Theaetetus''
+===Late===
+*''Timaeus''
+*''Critias''
+*''Sophist''
+*''Statesman''
+*''Philebus''
+*''Laws''
+== See also ==
+*[[Greek Philosophy]]
+*[[Parmenides]]
+==References==
+<references/>
+== External links ==
+*[http://www.4literature.net/Plato/ Works by Plato]
+*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/plato_cave.shtml The Challenge of Plato's Cave]
+==Further reading==
+* Kraut, Richard. ''The Cambridge Companion to Plato'' (1992)  [https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Plato-Companions-Philosophy/dp/0521436109/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259344462&sr=1-26 excerpt and text search]
+* Taylor, Thomas. ''Introduction to the Philosophy and Writings of Plato''  (2008) [https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Philosophy-Writings-Thomas-Taylor/dp/0554351919/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259344610&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search]
+===Primary sources===
+* Plato. The Portable Plato  ed. by Scott Buchanan (1977)  [https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Plato-Library/dp/0140150404/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259344399&sr=1-23 excerpt and text search]
+{{Greatest Thinkers}}
+[[Category:Ancient Greek Philosophers]]
 [[Category:Philosophers]]

Difference between revisions of "Plato"

Latest revision as of 20:37, January 31, 2025

Contents

Influence

Style

Plato's allegory of the cave

Articles and videos

The Soul

Quotes

List of Works

Early

Middle

Late

See also

References

External links

Further reading

Primary sources

Navigation menu

Search