PLATO

BALADAD, Jamie Anne R.

BSED – 4A
 PLATO
(428/427 - 348/347 BCE)
 considered as a pre-eminent Greek
philosopher;
 known for his Dialogues and for founding
his Academy north of Athens.
 he was the student of Socrates and the
teacher of Aristotle;
 though influenced primarily by Socrates, to
the extent that Socrates is usually the
main character in many of Plato's writings,
he was also influenced
by Heraclitus, Parmenides, and
the Pythagoreans.
 FAMILY

 Son of Ariston & Perictione;

 He had two brothers named
Adeimentus & Claucon and a
sister named Potone;
 He also had a half-brother
named Antiphon.
 LIFE
 Plato came from one of the
wealthiest & politically active
family;
 He was actually named after his
grandfather Aristocles;
 “Plato” started as a nickname
made by his wrestling coach
because of his broad figure.
 PLATO’s TRAVELS AND THE FOUNDING
OF THE ACADEMY

 When Socrates died, Plato left

Athens, staying first in Megara,
but then going on to several other
places, including perhaps Cyrene,
Italy, Sicily, and even Egypt.
 Plato first went to Italy and
Sicily when he was "about forty".
 Plato returned to Athens and
founded a school, known as
the Academy.
 INFLUENCES ON PLATO
HERACLITUS
Aristotle and Diogenes agree that
Plato had some early association
with either the philosophy
of Heraclitus of Ephesus, or with
one or more of that philosopher's
followers (see Aristotle Metaph.
987a32, D.L. 3.4-3.5). The effects
of this influence can perhaps be
seen in the mature Plato's
conception of the sensible world as
ceaselessly changing.
PARMENIDES and ZENO
There can be no doubt that Plato
was also strongly influenced
by Parmenides and Zeno (both of
Elea), in Plato's theory of the
Forms, which are plainly intended
to satisfy the Parmenidean
requirement of metaphysical unity
and stability in knowable
reality. Parmenides and Zeno also
appear as characters in his
dialogue, the Parmenides.
THE PHYTAGOREANS
Plato was a friend of Archytas of
Tarentum, a well-known Pythagorean
statesman and thinker, and in
the Phaedo, Plato has Echecrates,
another Pythagorean, in the group
around Socrates on his final day in
prison. Plato's Pythagorean influences
seem especially evident in his
fascination with mathematics, and in
some of his political ideals,
expressed in various ways in several
dialogues.
SOCRATES
Nonetheless, it is plain that no
influence on Plato was greater than
that of Socrates. This is evident not
only in many of the doctrines and
arguments we find in Plato's
dialogues, but perhaps most obviously
in Plato's choice of Socrates as the
main character in most of his works.
According to the Seventh
Letter, Plato counted Socrates "the
justest man alive". According to
Diogenes Laertius, the respect was
mutual .
PLATO’s BIG 4 IDEAS

EUDAIMONIA
FULLFILMENT
THINK
MORE!
 SOCRATIC DISCUSSION

a form of cooperative
argumentative dialogue between
individuals, based on asking
and answering questions to
stimulate critical thinking and
to draw out ideas and
underlying presumptions
LET YOUR
LOVER
CHANGE
YOU
 THE SYMPOSIUM

“True love is admiration.”

“A couple shouldn’t love each

other exactly as they are right
now…”
DECODE
THE
MESSAGE
OF
BEAUTY
 THE THEORY OF FORMS

an argument that non-

physical (but substantial)
forms (or ideas) represent
the most accurate reality.
ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
REFORM
SOCIETY
 THE REPUBLIC

Plato questioned how can

we have fulfilled
people…
 THE MENO

Should ‘virtue’ must be

taught?
PLATO’S FAMOUS QUOTES
Love is a serious mental disease.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a

hard battle.

Only the dead have seen the end of war.

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid

of the dark; the real tragedy of life is
when men are afraid of the light.
 Wise men talk because they
have something to say; fools,
because they have nothing to
say.

The unexamined life is not

worth living to a human.