Plato

PLATO- THE FATHER OF PHILOSOPHY

**Plato was born in Athens, Greece during the time of 427 BC. Ariston, Plato's father, died when Plato was very young. After Ariston's death, his mother married a friend of Pericles, who was a prominent and influential statesman of Athens.** ( [|www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/**Pericles**] ).**This gave Pato political connection to both the oligarchy and democracy. After the Peloponnesian War, his mother's brother and uncle tried to persuade him to join in the oligarchical rules of Athens. Instead, Plato decided to join his two older brothers in becoming a student of Socrates. Socrates forced them to challenge then to examine their ideas and beliefs critically, which was annoying and antagonizing many in the process.** ( []).

Plato was around the age of 28 when Socrates was executed. It was perhaps the tragedy that convinced him to give up politics in Athens. At this point in his life, Plato started to write. Most scholars divided his writing into three major groups. The first was known as the Socratic Diolague because it was so close to the way Socrates taught. They were written around 390 B.C. when he was travelling. Some examples of these were the Apology, the Crito, and the Hippias Minor and Major.

After travelling, he returned to Athens and started a school called the Academy. It was described as the very first university. He offered classes in lots of subjects like astronomy, biology, mathematics, and philosophy. He really wanted the best thinkers to study there and help Greece become a better place. He stayed in charge of the Academy until he died. It was after he started the Academy that Plato started to really focus on philosophy. This time was called his transitional period.

During this period, Plato wrote a lot about philosohy. Some of his writings included Meno, Cratylus, Phadrus, and the Republic. The Republic talked about how to live a good life and what a perfect state would be like and what a good person is like. The Republic also reviews different kids of government and decideds the ideal state only let's philosophers rule. At this time, Plato was asked to be the tutor of Dionysus II who was the new ruler of Syracuse. He stayed as his tutor until Syracuse entered into war and then he returned to Athens. ([])

After returning to Athens, he began teaching his prize student, Aristotle. His father was the physician to King Philip of Macedonia. Aristotle studied at the Academy for 20 years. Plato called him the "Mind of the School". Plato died in 347 BC. According to the legend, he died with his pen in hs hand. []



Videos
1.[]

2.[]