Plato is known today as one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He was born about 429 BC, and he died in 347 BC, just after the birth of Alexander the Great. Plato was born in Athens, to a very rich and powerful family. Many of his relatives were involved with Athenian politics, though Plato himself was not.
When Plato was a young man, he went to listen to Socrates, and learned a lot from Socrates about how to think, and what sort of questions to think about. When Socrates was forced to commit suicide in 399 BC, Plato was very upset. He then began to write down some of the conversations he had heard Socrates have. Practically everything we know about Socrates comes from what Plato wrote down.
After a while, though, Plato began to write down his own ideas about philosophy & metaphysics. Plato thought that most people were pretty stupid, and so they should not be voting about what to do. Instead, he felt the best educated people should be chosen to be the Guardians of the rest… a rule by Philosopher-Kings.
Plato also thought a great deal about the natural world and how it works. He thought that everything had a sort of ideal form, like the idea of a tree, when the actual tree was a sort of poor imitation of the ideal tree that exists only in the mind. One of the ways Plato tried to explain his ideas, was with the famous metaphor of the Cave. Plato believed that Forms exist as essences in a transcendental, or 'supralunar,' world. They are apprehensible rather than sensible, and constitute the objects of our knowledge.
When Plato was a young man, he went to listen to Socrates, and learned a lot from Socrates about how to think, and what sort of questions to think about. When Socrates was forced to commit suicide in 399 BC, Plato was very upset. He then began to write down some of the conversations he had heard Socrates have. Practically everything we know about Socrates comes from what Plato wrote down.
After a while, though, Plato began to write down his own ideas about philosophy & metaphysics. Plato thought that most people were pretty stupid, and so they should not be voting about what to do. Instead, he felt the best educated people should be chosen to be the Guardians of the rest… a rule by Philosopher-Kings.
Plato also thought a great deal about the natural world and how it works. He thought that everything had a sort of ideal form, like the idea of a tree, when the actual tree was a sort of poor imitation of the ideal tree that exists only in the mind. One of the ways Plato tried to explain his ideas, was with the famous metaphor of the Cave. Plato believed that Forms exist as essences in a transcendental, or 'supralunar,' world. They are apprehensible rather than sensible, and constitute the objects of our knowledge.
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