PLATO  BIOGRAPHY

Writer, Philosopher (c. 428 BCE–c. 348 BCE)

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato founded the Academy and is the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence
in Western thought.
Synopsis=Born circa 428 B.C.E., ancient Greek philosopher Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle.
His writings explored justice, beauty and equality, and also contained discussions in aesthetics, political philosophy,
theology, cosmology, epistemology and the philosophy of language. Plato founded the Academy in Athens, one of the
first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. He died in Athens circa 348 B.C.E.

Background=Due to a lack of primary sources from the time period, much of Plato's life has been constructed by scholars
through his writings and the writings of contemporaries and classical historians. Traditional history estimates Plato's birth
was around 428 B.C.E., but more modern scholars, tracing later events in his life, believe he was born between 424 and
423 B.C.E. Both of his parents came from the Greek aristocracy. Plato's father, Ariston, descended from the kings of
Athens and Messenia. His mother, Perictione, is said to be related to the 6th century B.C.E. Greek statesman Solon.Some
scholars believe that Plato was named for his grandfather, Aristocles, following the tradition of the naming the eldest son
after the grandfather. But there is no conclusive evidence of this, or that Plato was the eldest son in his family. Other
historians claim that "Plato" was a nickname, referring to his broad physical build. This too is possible, although there is
record that the name Plato was given to boys before Aristocles was born. As with many young boys of his social class,
Plato was probably taught by some of Athens' finest educators. The curriculum would have featured the doctrines of
Cratylus and Pythagoras as well as Parmenides. These probably helped develop the foundation for Plato's study of
metaphysics (the study of nature) and epistemology (the study of knowledge).

Plato's father died when he was young, and his mother remarried her uncle, Pyrilampes, a Greek politician and
ambassador to Persia. Plato is believed to have had two full brothers, one sister and a half-brother, though it is not certain
where he falls in the birth order. Often, members of Plato's family appeared in his dialogues. Historians believe this is an
indication of Plato's pride in his family lineage. As a young man, Plato experienced two major events that set his course in
life. One was meeting the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates's methods of dialogue and debate impressed Plato so
much that he soon he became a close associate and dedicated his life to the question of virtue and the formation of a noble
character. The other significant event was the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which Plato served for a
brief time between 409 and 404 B.C.E. The defeat of Athens ended its democracy, which the Spartans replaced with an
oligarchy. Two of Plato's relatives, Charmides and Critias, were prominent figures in the new government, part of the
notorious Thirty Tyrants whose brief rule severely reduced the rights of Athenian citizens. After the oligarchy was
overthrown and democracy was restored, Plato briefly considered a career in politics, but the execution of Socrates in 399
B.C.E. soured him on this idea and he turned to a life of study and philosophy. After Socrates's death, Plato traveled for
12 years throughout the Mediterranean region, studying mathematics with the Pythagoreans in Italy, and geometry,
geology, astronomy and religion in Egypt. During this time, or soon after, he began his extensive writing. There is some
debate among scholars on the order of these writings, but most believe they fall into three distinct periods.

Early, Middle and Late Periods: An Overview

The first, or early, period occurs during Plato's travels (399-387 B.C.E.). The Apology of Socrates seems to have been
written shortly after Socrates's death. Other texts in this time period include Protagoras, Euthyphro, Hippias Major and
Minor and Ion. In these dialogues, Plato attempts to convey Socrates's philosophy and teachings. In the second, or middle,
period, Plato writes in his own voice on the central ideals of justice, courage, wisdom and moderation of the individual
and society. The Republic was written during this time with its exploration of just government ruled by philosopher kings.
In the third, or late, period, Socrates is relegated to a minor role and Plato takes a closer look at his own early
metaphysical ideas. He explores the role of art, including dance, music, drama and architecture, as well as ethics and
morality. In his writings on the Theory of Forms, Plato suggests that the world of ideas is the only constant and that the
perceived world through our senses is deceptive and changeable.

Founding the Academy

Sometime around 385 B.C.E., Plato founded a school of learning, known as the Academy, which he presided over until
his death. It is believed the school was located at an enclosed park named for a legendary Athenian hero. The Academy
operated until 529 C.E.., when it was closed by Roman Emperor Justinian I, who feared it was a source of paganism and a
threat to Christianity. Over its years of operation, the Academy's curriculum included astronomy, biology, mathematics,
political theory and philosophy. Plato hoped the Academy would provide a place for future leaders to discover how to
build a better government in the Greek city-states.

In 367 B.C.E., Plato was invited by Dion, a friend and disciple, to be the personal tutor of his nephew, Dionysius II, the
new ruler of Syracuse (Sicily). Dion believed that Dionysius showed promise as an ideal leader. Plato accepted, hoping
the experience would produce a philosopher king. But Dionysius fell far short of expectations and suspected Dion, and
later Plato, of conspiring against him. He had Dion exiled and Plato placed under "house arrest." Eventually, Plato
returned to Athens and his Academy. One of his more promising students there was Aristotle, who would take his
mentor's teachings in new directions.

Final Years

Plato's final years were spent at the Academy and with his writing. The circumstances surrounding his death are clouded,
though it is fairly certain that he died in Athens around 348 B.C.E., when he was in his early 80s. Some scholars suggest
that he died while attending a wedding, while others believe he died peacefully in his sleep.

Plato's impact on philosophy and the nature of humans has had a lasting impact far beyond his homeland of Greece. His
work covered a broad spectrum of interests and ideas: mathematics, science and nature, morals and political theory. His
beliefs on the importance of mathematics in education have proven to be essential for understanding the entire universe.
His work on the use of reason to develop a more fair and just society that is focused on the equality of individuals
established the foundation for modern democracy.

PLATO’S FACTS IN LIFE

Interesting Plato Facts: 1-5

1. He was an ancient Greek philosopher who and was born somewhere around 428 BCE.
2. He died somewhere around 348 BCE in the city of Athens.
3. Socrates (yet another great philosopher) was his teacher and he was in turn, teacher of another great philosopher named
Aristotle.
4. As mentioned in opening paragraphs, everything about this great philosopher comes from classical historians and
contemporary writes. So, there is actually a debate about his year of birth. Modern historians believe that he was born
between 424 and 423 BCE.
5. Ariston was his father’s name. Ariston descended directly from kings of Messeina and Athens.
Interesting Plato Facts: 6-10

6. Even his mother, Perictione, is believed to be a descendant of an aristocrat named Solon. According to historians, Solon
was a Greek statesman from 6th century BCE.
7. According to some historians, Plato was actually his nickname and that his real name was Aristocles.
8. Aristocles was Plato’s grandfather’s name and some historians suggest that Plato was the eldest grandson of Aristocles
and that it was customary in Greece during Plato’s time to name family’s eldest son after his grandfather. Historians don’t
really agree on this. Some argue that there is no definitive proof of Plato being the eldest son in his family.
9. If we incline towards believing that Plato was just a nickname, it makes some sense because ‘Plato’ actually meant
someone who has a broad and strong physical build. Plato indeed had a very broad body structure.
10. Since he belonged from an aristocrat family, he received his education from some of the finest educators who were
present in Athens at that time.

Interesting Facts about the Philosopher: 11-15

11. During his education, he was probably taught about doctrines of Parmenides, Pythagoras and Cratylus. These
doctrines possibly molded him and laid down the foundations for his study of epistemology (which is actually ‘study of
knowledge’) and metaphysics (‘study of nature’).
12. His mother married his uncle after his father’s death. Historians believe that he had one sister, two full brothers and
one half-brother but they are not sure whether he was the eldest son of the family or not.
13. When he was young, he met Socrates and was so much influenced by him that Plato quickly became a close associate
of Socrates.
14. During Peloponnesian War in which Sparta defeated Athens, he served as a soldier between 409 and 404 BCE.
15. After the Peloponnesian War oligarchy was established in Athens but soon democracy was reestablished. It was then
that he considered getting into politics but in 399 BCE, Socrates was executed, and this left a very bad impression about
politics on him. He then decided to drop the idea of joining politics and instead, he turned into philosophy.

Interesting Plato Facts: 16-27

16. He traveled across the Mediterranean region for 12 years after his teacher Socrates was executed. During these 12
years, he learned astronomy, geology, geometry, mathematics and religion.
17. It was during or just after his 12 years of travel, he started writing extensively, which is divided into three distinct
period. In the early period, he attempted to spread the teachings of Socrates through his writing.
18. In the middle period he wrote about his own ideas of wisdom, courage, justice and ideas of moderating society and
individuals.
19. In the late period, he took off major focus from Socrates and explored his own metaphysical ideas and even explored
architecture, drama, music and dance.
20. In 385 BCE, he founded The Academy in Athens which became one of the first institutions in Western World to offer
higher learning.
21. He presided over The Academy until he died but the institution continued to operate till 529 CE.
22. Roman Emperor named Justinian I considered The Academy to be a threat to Christianity and closed it completely.
23. The students of The Academy were taught philosophy, political theory, mathematics, biology and astronomy.
24. He died in Athens in his early 80s somewhere around 348 BCE.
25. According to some historians, he died peacefully in his sleep and some others believe that he died while he was
attending a wedding.
26. He was known for writing dialogues. He strongly believed that dialogues help to understand an individual in better
way. ‘The Republic’ is considered his best work which he wrote during the middle period (refer to point #17).
27. One of his famous students was Aristotle. It was Aristotle who gave a whole new direction to his thoughts. The
Renaissance master Raphael painted a famous picture known as ‘The School of Athens’ in which he painted Plato and
Aristotle.

(PPT PRESENTATION)
 He was even invited to join the administration of the regime of the Thirty Tyrants
 Democracy was restored to Athens.
 The execution of Socrates in 399 B.C
 In his dialogues, Plato discussed every kind of philosophical idea includes:
 Ethics- with discussion of the nature of virtue
 Metaphysics- where topics include immortality, man, mind, and Realism
 Political Philosophy- where topics such as censorship and the ideal state are discussed
 Philosophy of Religion- considering topics such as Atheism, Dualism and Pantheism
 Epistemology- where he looked at ideas such as a priori knowledge and Rationalism
 Philosophy of Mathematics and the Theory of Art- especially dance, music, poetry, architecture and drama
 Happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct
 Virtues (aretê: ‘excellence’) are the requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it.
 the good soul and of what is good for the soul, on the assumption that the state of the soul is the necessary and sufficient
condition for the good life and its moral precepts
 "There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance"