Plato (429-348)
Father, Ariston, was descended from Codrus, the last King of Athens
Mother, Perictione, was related to Solon, author of Athenian constitution
Glaucon, Adeimantus, Potone: Siblings
Eschewed politics thanks partly to the execution of his teacher by the democratic regime
in 399.
Founded his Academy in 385
Plato is a kind of conservative aristocrat
Excellent writer who could use a myriad of literary styles:
1. Narrative treatise, either in mythical form or in the form of learned treatise, talks at us,
lectures, and runs the risk of (1) bored, passive disengagement or (2) direct counterargument
2. Drama, or the dialogues of the 5th century tragedians, do draw the reader in, but may
over-emphasize certain themes & interpretations. Readers/audience can only submit to
the morality tale that attaches to the hero(ine).
3. Protagoras and Republic are examples of dialogues written in the first person:
 One is invited to participate in the conversation and something like the Socratic
emphasis on dialectic, relying on the back and forth of oral communication, is
preserved
 Preserves some of the immediacy of drama
 Preserves some of the organic soulfulness of poetry
 Has the advantages of a narrative, essay form: There is a central speaker, usually
Socrates, who structures the “arguments” and is a focus of attention
Plato’s Socratic Dialogues: We can never be sure how much are Plato’s ideas, and how
much are Socrates’ ideas.
Wrote over 25 dialogues before he jettisons the dialogue form in his later years and
focuses on writing direct treatises.
Early years: Strongly emphasized Socrates’ thought, as in The Apology, Crito, &
Euthyphro
Middle years: Emphasizes his own ideas, as in The Republic
Later years: Criticizes his own middle period, as in Parmenides
To what extent does Plato “refute” through elenchus and to what extent does he develop
his own positive doctrines?
To what extent does he develop a “Platonist” school of thought?
By the time of Socrates, the Pre-Socratics have introduced a certain worldview:
 The idea that change appears to be the only constant

Our senses are flawed – they only perceive representations of ideal forms
The Sophists have also introduced a certain worldview:
 Language was questioned – as an inexact tool of communications
 Human laws are contingent and not reflective of any eternal foundational values
This is the state of philosophy that Socrates and Plato try to improve.
Like all thinkers, Plato responds to the intellectual history that preceded him
Like all thinkers, Plato is sometimes responding to contemporary political developments
Like Socrates, Plato’s questions were centered on:
What is Knowledge and how can we acquire it?
What is the Good Life?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Situating Plato’s Republic
Alfred North Whitehead’s view: “The entire history of western philosophy is nothing but
a series of footnotes to Plato.”
Unique Characteristics Platonic Dialogues:
 Elusive quality, Notable for repeated questioning and critical reflection
 Cannot discern if a line of reasoning is really what Plato or Socrates thought
 The author is not present, or at least, not always present
 Forces the reader into conversation with the dialogue itself
 Sometimes the reader is forced into a particular character’s subject position
 Does not produce a “Theory of Justice,” or a systematic way of thinking about
politics and government
-- Invitation to reader to develop one’s own argument
Greek title of The Republic is Politeía, meaning “Political Regime” or “Constitution”
The party (discussion) takes place at the wealthy Cephalus’s house in the Piraeus, the
major port of Athens. The party lasts well into the night.
Socrates satirizes and attacks democracy throughout
Cephalus’s house would later be destroyed by the democratic regime, and
Socrates would be put to death by the democratic regime.
Plato, of course, writes The Republic after the above has transpired, though he
makes no reference to it.
Is the Republic simply a screed against democracy? Perhaps not. See 557 c, d
Takes place during a break in the Peloponnesian War
The Central Argument, that the troubles of the world will never cease, until Kings and
Regents become Philosophers, is rendered “unrealistic” by Socrates’s death at the hand of
the democratic rulers in 399.
Also rendered unrealistic by the failure to make Dionysius of Syracuse into a
Philosopher-King. In his early 40s, Plato left his Academy and sailed to Sicily in order to
do this. The project failed, and Plato was well aware of this failure as he revised The
Republic.
What can we make of this?
Division of Ten Books not likely Plato’s intent. Consequence of papyrus rolls or “books”
on which it was written.
Stephanous numbers – universal reference scheme for Plato’s works.