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The definite place and time of Plato’s birth are unknown
It is believed that he was born in Athens around (427 B.C.E) and that he
was born into an aristocratic and influential family his fathers name was
Ariston and his mothers Perictions .(Death: around 347B.C.E)
He is a descendent from ancient Athenian kings and was related to Critias a
politician.
His real name is actually Aristocles but was nicknamed Plato for his
wrestling abilities.
Plato received a great education as a child learning topics such as
gymnastics, grammar, music and philosophy along with some other
subjects.
• Plato is one of the major Philosophers in history and he studied
subjects such as
• Metaphysics
• Theory of forms
• Epistemology
• Plato Expressed most of his ideas in dialogue
• Plato Believed that moral Philosophy was grater than natural
philosophy a.k.a science
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Plato was Born in 427B.C.E.
At the age of twenty Plato became a pupil of Socrates
Plato joined the military in 409 to 404 BCE
In 403 there was a lot of democracy and Plato attempted to enter politic but soon he
give up political ambitions because of personal reasons.
In 399 Socrates was executed and Plato would no longer have anything to do with
politics in Athens
Plato left Athens and traveled to Egypt, Sicily and Italy learning of the water clock in
Greece and Pythagoras mathematics in Italy.
Once again Plato entered in the military Date not found, he was mentioned for his
bravery.
Plato Create Academos or academy in 38-3897BCE
on his journeys he decided to devote the rest of his life to philosophy
he went to Syracuse in 367 BCE to tutor Dionysius2 to prevent Carthage from
Invading Sicily
Death 347B.C.E
The Academy
• Plato is credited for making the first ever school of advanced
learning in western history.
• The academy included a curriculum with subjects such as
astronomy, mathematics, political theory, philosophy, and biology.
• The purpose of the academy was to influence the minds of the
younger generations and restore decent government into the cities
of Greece
• It operated until 529 CE when it was shut down by Justinian the 1st
of the Byzantium Empire because he saw it as a threat to
propagation of Christianity. It was also the last stronghold of
paganism in the Christian world
Influence of Socrates
• Plato was a pupil of Socrates in his youth and he
tried to follow in his footsteps.
• Much of Socrates ideas was told though Plato.
• Because of Socrates execution traveled and
began a life of philosophy.
• Many of Plato’s theory's for things such as
justices was do to the fact of Socrates death
• If It was not for Socrates influence on Plato
much of his ideas and theory's would not have
been achieved.
Influence of Greece
• In the time of Plato there was much war going on in the
world of the Greece like the Peloponnesian War fought
between Athens and Sparta between 431BCE and
404BCE
• Much of his theory's behind human thought and the
consensus mind could have been sparked from his
experiences in the military
Inspirations
• Plato had many influences some of them include
Socrates, Homer, Hesiod, Aristophanes, Aesop,
Protagoras, Parmenides, Pythagoras , Heraclitus and
Orphism
• Many of Plato’s interests in life were Art, Literature,
Epistemology, justice, virtue, politics, education, family
and militarism
Great Ideas
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Plato believed that men and women are egual in their capacity to
understand reality and make reasonable judgements about it and they
should both be granted a suitable, equal education.
Plato stated that societies were formed for a purpose. No one working alone
can provide them self with all of the genuine necessities of life so we gether
together for the mutual achievement of our goals as we are more efficient
when we work together as a community
Plato’s theory of forms expresses that forms (ideas) possess the most
fundamental kind of reality, and the material world known to us by sensation
is not the real world but only a shadow of it that we perceive to be real
Plato Believed that Knowledge is innate and that each soul before birth has
a perfect knowledge of everything and that when we learn something it is
actually just being recalled this is know as platonic epistemology.
Great ideas
• Much of his Idea’s is that about reality is unenviable to those who
use their senses, and that physical reality is just shadows of the real
truth there ideal or perfect forms exist only to the extent that they
instantiate the perfect versions of themselves.
• Much of Plato’s theory’s reject the ideas the knowledge is found
from experience, although he believes it is probable, it is not certain.
These beliefs start to demise Plato towards the common individual
and make it hard for people to trust him.
Art
• Since Plato believed that reality was a step down from
knowledge and reality then that of art is two steps down
of reality.
• This also meant that the artist was two steps down from
Knowledge and that they lack genuine Knowledge of
what they are doing
Plato’s Idea’s live on
• At the age of sixty I young man at the age of eighteen
arrived at Plato’s Academy by the name of Aristotle
• In the 3rd century the development of the theory of
Platonism from the philosopher Plotinus was inspired
from Plato as we can interpret from the word (Platonism)
• Plato also had grate impact on Jewish thought though
the work of the 1st century philosopher Philo Judaeus
Plato’s Ideas live on
• During the Renaissance, the primary focus of Plato’s in
influence was in the Italian city Florence where Under
the role of Marsilio Ficino, Florentine Academy study
Plato’s Idea’s
• Even today in the twenty first century thinkers such as
Alfred North Whitehead admirer Plato. He once said
“Philosophies history is just a series of footnotes to
Plato.
• The belief he had on men a women relate to today's
beliefs of freedom and people’s rights
Plato the Great
• Plato’s influences throughout the history of
philosophy has been monumental
• Plato’s influences extended long past his own
life and, indeed never did die