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[[Image:Raphael.jpg|right|thumb|Raphael's depiction of Plato in '''The School of Athens'''.]]

[[Image:Raphael.jpg|right|thumb|Raphael's depiction of Plato in '''The School of Athens'''.]]

'''Plato''' was 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, a school bereft of buildings wherein Plato taught his philosophy, which entailed many separate disciplines. His teachings greatly influenced [[Diogenes]]. His most famous work is The [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''Republic'']], from which Rome and the United States took the name for their system of government. One of Plato's pupils was [[Aristotle]], whose works greatly influenced Aquinas, and much of the [[Magesterium]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].  

'''Plato''' was 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, a school bereft of buildings wherein Plato taught his philosophy, which entailed many separate disciplines. His teachings greatly influenced [[Diogenes]]. His most famous work is [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''The Republic'']]. One of Plato's pupils was [[Aristotle]], whose works greatly influenced Aquinas, and much of the [[Magisterium]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].  

Although Plato cannot be described as a theist, neo-Platonism from the second and third centuries B.C. was a major influence on early Christian teachings.

Although Plato cannot be described as a theist, neo-Platonism from the second and third centuries B.C. was a major influence on early Christian teachings.

==Plato's Cave==

==Plato's Cave==

[[Image:Plato bust.jpg|left|140px]]

[[Image:Plato bust.jpg|left|140px]]

Plato had his character Socrates present the myth of the cave in The [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''Republic'']]. 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.

Plato had his character Socrates present the myth of the cave in [[The Republic (Philosophy)|''The Republic'']]. 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.

==The Soul==

==The Soul==