Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-12, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in Plato: The Great Philosopher Ajaj Ahemad & Mazar Ali Shah Ph.D. Students, Department of Philosophy and Political Science AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) Abstract: Plato is one of the most important named Aristocles after his grandfather, and only Western philosophers, exerting influence on later dubbed "Plato" or "Platon" (meaning "broad") virtually every figure in philosophy after him. His on account of the breadth of his eloquence, or of dialogue The Republic is known as the first his wide forehead, or possibly on account of his comprehensive work on political philosophy. Plato generally robust figure. also contributed foundationally to ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. His student, His father was Ariston (who may have traced his Aristotle, is also an extremely influential descent from Codrus, the last of the philosopher and the tutor of Alexander the Great of legendary kings of Athens); his mother Macedonia. was Perictione (who was descended from the famous Athenian lawmaker and poet Solon, and Key Word: Plato’s life discipleship and the most whose family also boasted prominent figures of the influential philosophical works. oligarchic regime of Athens known as the Thirty Tyrants). He had two INTRODUCTION brothers, Adeimantus and Glaucon, and a sister, Potone. Plato later introduced several of his Plato (c.428-348 B.C.) was a hugely important distinguished relatives into his dialogues, Greek philosopher and mathematician from the indicating considerable family pride. Socratic (or Classical) period. When Ariston died early in Plato's childhood, his He is perhaps the best known, most widely studied mother married her own uncle, Pyrilampes, who and most influential philosopher of all time. was also a friend of Pericles (the leader of the Together with his mentor, Socrates, and his democratic faction in Athens), and who had served student, Aristotle, he provided the main opposition many times as an ambassador to the Persian court. to the Materialist view of the world represented by Together, they had another son, Antiphon, who was Democritus and Epicurus, and he helped to lay the therefore Plato's half-brother. foundations of the whole of Western Philosophy. Coming as he did from one of the wealthiest and In his work, especially his many dialogues, he most politically active families in Athens, Plato blended Ethics, Political Philosophy, must have been instructed Epistemology, Metaphysics and Moral and in grammar, music and gymnastics by the most psychology into an interconnected and systematic distinguished teachers of his time, and certainly his philosophy. In addition to the ideas they contained quickness of mind and modesty were (such as his doctrine Platonic Realism, widely praised. He had also attended courses Essentialism, Idealism, his famous theory of Forms of philosophy and was acquainted with Cratylus, a and ideal of “Platonic love”), many of his writing disciple of Heraclitus, before meeting Socrates. are also considered superb pieces of literature. This life-changing event occurred when Plato was about twenty years old, and Plato was the founder of the the intercourse between master and pupil probably famous Academy in Athens, the first institution of lasted eight or ten years. As a youth he had loved to higher learning in the western world. The write poetry and tragedies, but burnt them all after philosophical school which he developed at the he became a student of Socrates and turned to Academy was known as Platonism (and its later philosophy in earnest. It is plain that off-shoot, Neo-Platonism). no influence on Plato was greater than that of Socrates. Life Sketch Plato was in military service from 409 to 404 B.C. Plato was born in Athens (or possibly in Aegina, and, for a time, he imagined a life in public affairs according to some sources) sometime between 429 for himself. He was even invited to join the and 423 B.C. (most modern scholars use estimate administration of the regime of the Thirty Tyrants of 428 or 427 B.C.) He was possibly originally Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 940 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-12, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in (through the connected with his uncle, Charmides, authenticity of at least some of these remains in who was himself a member), but he was soon doubt) of superb dialogues, written in the form of repelled by their violent acts and backed out. In conversations, a form which permitted him to 403 B.C., democracy was restored to Athens, and develop the Socratic method of question and Plato had renewed hopes of entering politics again, answer. In his dialogues, Plato discussed every although the excesses of Athenian political life in kind of philosophical idea, including Ethics (with general persuaded him to hold back. The execution discussion of the nature of virtue), Metaphysics of Socrates in 399 B.C. had a profound effort on (where topics include immortality, man, mind, and him, and be decided to have nothing further to do Realism), Political Philosophy (where topics such with politics in Athens. as censorship and the ideal state are discussed), Philosophy of Religion (considering topics such as After Socrates' death, he joined a group of Socratic Atheism, Dualism and Pantheism), Epistemology disciples who had gathered in the Greek city of (where he looked at ideas such as a priori Megara under the leadership of Euclid of Megara, knowledge and Rationalism), the Philosophy of before leaving and travelling quite widely Mathematics and the theory of art (especially in Italy, Sicily, Egypt and Cyrene. During his time dance, music, poetry, architecture and drama). in Italy, he also studied with students of Pythagoras and came to appreciate the value We have no material evidence about of mathematics. exactly when Plato wrote each of his dialogues, nor the extent to which some might have been When he returned to Athens in about 385 or 387 later revised or rewritten, nor even whether all or B.C., Plato founded the Academy (or Academia), part of them were ever "published" or made widely one of the earliest and most famous organized available. In addition to the ideas they contained, schools in western civilization and the prototype though, his writings are also considered superb for later universities, on a plot of land containing a pieces of literature in their own right, in terms of sacred grove just outside the city walls of ancient the mastery of language, the power of Athens, which had once belonged to the Athenian indicating character, the sense of situation, and the hero Akademos. Plato had been bitterly keen eye for both tragic and comic aspects. disappointed with the standards displayed by those in public office, and his intention was to train None of the dialogues contain Plato himself as a young men in philosophy and the science in order character, and so he does not actually declare that to create better statesmen, as well as to continue the anything asserted in them are specifically his own work of his former teacher, Socrates. Among views. The characters in the dialogues are Plato’s more noteworthy students at the Academy generally historical, with Socrates usually as the were Aristotle, Xenocrates (396-314 B.C.). protagonist (particularly in the early dialogues). It is generally thought that the view expressed by the Except for two more rather ill-advised and ill-fated character of Socrates in Plato’s dialogues were trips to Syracuse in Sicily in 367 B.C. and views that Socrates himself actually held, and the 361 B.C. to tutor the young ruler Dionysius II, works had the effect of gradually rehabilitating Plato presided over his Academy from Socrates’ rather tarnished image among Athenians 387 B.C. until his death in 347 B.C., aged about 80. in the wake of his death. As time went on, though, He was supposedly buried in the school grounds, the dialogues began to deal more with subjects that although his grave has never been discovered. interested Plato himself, rather than merely providing a vehicle for the ideas of Socrates. It On Plato’s death, his nephew Speusippus seems likely that Plato's main intention in his succeeded him as head of school (perhaps because dialogues was more to teach his students to think his star pupil Aristotle’s idea had by that time for themselves and to find their own answers to the diverged too far from Plato’s). The school big questions, rather than to blindly follow his own continued to operate for almost 900 years, unit opinions (or those of Socrates). A.D. 529, when it was closed by the Byzantine Emperor Justinial I, who saw it as a threat to the Among the (likely earlier) Socratic dialogues are: propagation of Christianity. “Apology”, “Charmides”, “Crito”, “Euthyphro”, “Ion”, “Laches”, “Lesser Hippias”, “Lysis”, PHILOSOPHICAL WORK Menexenus” and “Protagoras”. The following are often considerd “transitional” dialogues: “Gorgias”, Plato is perhaps the first philosopher whose “Meno” and “Euthydemus”. The middle dialogues complete works are still available to us. He wrote are generally seen as the first appearance of Plato’s no systematic treatises giving his views, but rather own view: “Cratylus”, “Phaedo”, “Phaedrus”, he wrote a number (about 35, although the “Symposium”, Republic”, “Theaetetus” and Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 941 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-12, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in “Parmenides”. The late dialogues probably indicate This idea was most famously captured and Plato’s more mature thought, including criticism of illustrated in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from his his own theories: “Sophist”, “Statesman”, best-known work, "The Republic".