Plato

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Plato
Plato Silanion Musei Capitolini MC1377.jpg
Plato: copy of portrait bust by Silanion
Born c. 428–427 BC[1]
Athens
Died c. 348–347 BC (aged c. 80)
Athens
Nationality Greek
Era Ancient philosophy
Region Western philosophy
School Platonism
Main interests Rhetoric, art, literature, epistemology, justice, virtue, politics, education, family, militarism
Notable ideas Theory of Forms, Platonic idealism, Platonic realism, hyperuranion, metaxy, khôra

Plato (/ˈplt/;[2] Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, "broad";[3] 428/427 BC[a] – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[4]

Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts.[5] Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy.

Biography