The ancient era is when philosophy’s foundational ideas were developed. Three of the greatest writers, scientists, and intellectuals of their day are Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato. They all made contributions to the growth of philosophy. In regards to Plato, British logician Alfred Whitehead asserted that all of European philosophy is really a byproduct of the writings of the ancient Greek, who established the idealistic movement.
Early Life and Adolescence
It’s unclear exactly the year the philosopher was born. It is thought to have occurred in 428 or 427 BC. It is believed that he was born on May 21, also known as 7 Thargelion. The Greeks observed this day as the birthday of Apollo, the son of Zeus and the Titaness Leto.
Furthermore, the precise location of birth is not mentioned. Though there is another story, most sources refer to Athens as Plato’s hometown. It states that the future philosopher’s life story started on the Saronic Gulf island of Aegina, and that Plato’s family relocated to Athens to ensure that their kids had a top-notch education.
It should be noted that there is disagreement over more than only Plato’s birth year and location. It’s believed that the philosopher’s true name was Aristocles, and that Ariston of Argos, his pankration instructor, gave him the nickname Plato because of his broad shoulders (“platos” means “wide” in ancient Greek). This was initially mentioned by the Greek historian Diogenes Laërtius.
Parents from the noble class were Plato’s parents. The philosopher’s mother was descended from the Athenian reformer Solon, while his father was a descendant of the Attic monarch Codrus. Plato had two uncles on his mother’s side: Critias and Charmides, who belonged to the pro-Spartan ruling group known as “The Thirty Tyrants.” Apart from Plato, the parents of Plato, Ariston and Perictione, had two other children: Glaucon, a son, and Adeimantus, a daughter.
The kids were given a classical musical education, which was also known as an intellectual, moral, and aesthetic education (called after the muses). The pre-Socratic philosopher Cratylus, an adherent of Heraclitus of Ephesus, instructed Plato during that period. The future thinker studied a variety of subjects under his direction, including science foundations, rhetoric, literature, and ethics.
Plato excelled in the fine arts, literature, and wrestling during his education. He also went on to compete in the Olympic and Nemean Games.
During the post-Periclean age, when cowardice, laziness, and avarice were on the rise, Plato spent his formative years. The armed confrontation between the Peloponnesian and Delian Leagues only made matters worse.
Ariston, the politician, made an effort to make life better for his fellow citizens. He therefore desired for his son to go to college and become a politician, but Plato had different ideas about what lay ahead. He gave writing a go, writing plays and poems.
Young Plato made the decision to bring a tragedy he had composed to the community theater in 408 BC. He encountered a powerful, elderly man while traveling. The young man’s life was completely turned upside down and then given a fresh start by the chat they had. Socrates was this dude.
Individual Life
Even for historians who have pieced together the details of Plato’s history, his private life remains a mystery. The community of wives, husbands, and children, as well as the rejection of private property, were among the teachings of the philosopher. As a result, it is difficult to identify just one of Plato’s wives, just as it is impossible to definitively identify his biological children.
Plato was never officially married. He personally espoused the idea of platonic love, characterizing it as a bond of respect and concern between pupils and an instructor and emphasizing the need to love a person’s spirit rather than just his physical form. He saw emotions as something inferior that needed to be restrained.
Views and Philosophy
The reformist teaching of Socrates stood in stark contrast to earlier traditions. His philosophy placed more focus on studying man than it did on the world and environment. The writings of the youthful Plato attest to his admiration for the opinions and remarks made by Socrates.
Socrates was found guilty and given the death penalty in 399 BC. The philosopher was charged with propagating a new religion and corrupting people instead of paying respect to the gods that the people of the city worshipped. Plato’s “Apology of Socrates” was based on the speech Socrates gave in defense of himself, which was granted due respect for his prior exploits, which included fighting in the Peloponnesian War. Socrates was executed by poisoning a cup.
Plato was deeply affected by Socrates’ killing and developed a strong animosity toward democracy as a result. Following his teacher’s passing, he set off on a voyage with the intention of meeting other scientists, sharing his experiences with them, and learning about the dialectics questions concerning the fundamentals of existence. In the ensuing ten to fifteen years, the philosopher traveled to Egypt, Megara, Cyrene, and Phoenicia. He was able to get in touch with and converse with Chaldeans and eastern magicians at this period, as well as Archytas of Tarentum and fellow Socrates disciples Euclid and Theodore. Plato became genuinely intrigued with eastern philosophy as a result of the latter.
Following many travels, Plato reached Sicily. Among the philosopher’s ambitions was the founding of a new state in collaboration with the military commander of the area, Dionysius the Elder (also called Syracusan). The man said that in the new state, thinkers should have power rather than those drinking poison from a cup while cheering others on. However, the concept was never carried out since Dionysius proved to be a despot who vehemently disagreed with Plato’s theories.
The philosopher then made the decision to go back to Athens. Plato was compelled by the city to reevaluate several of his theories regarding the perfect state. The Academy, an educational establishment where Plato started instructing others, was the outcome of these contemplations and was established in 387 BC. Thus was born a new combination of philosophy and religion.
The park outside of Athens where Plato’s teachings were held was called for the mythological figure Hecademos, and the school itself was named after him. Students studied astronomy, natural science, mathematics, philosophy, and other sciences at Plato’s Academy. Plato taught through dialogues because he thought this was the most effective way to grasp the essence of things.
A published dialogue by him was titled “Feast” and depicts a discussion between ancient Greeks praising the god Eros. The philosophical literature describes the various forms of love and how to recognize it. Socrates’ concepts of the beautiful, which are essentially good, take center stage.
The guy adopted the practice of the Academy’s teachers and students living together from Pythagoras’s adherents. The students included the philosopher Aristotle and the astronomer Eudochus, who introduced Plato to Eastern beliefs and teachings.
At the request of his friend Dion, the king of Syracuse and Dionysius the Elder’s brother-in-law, Plato returned to Sicily in 366 and 361 BC. Dionysius killed Dion to demonstrate his disapproval of this agreement. Plato was grieved by his friend’s passing and was compelled to return to Athens, where he taught his students till the end of his life.
Eventually, the philosopher arrived at objective idealism while trying to formulate a theory that would unify man and the universe. He discussed the soul and non-existence in his writings, holding that all that surrounds us is made up of ideas, souls, and inanimate things. According to Plato, there is a perfect world. To the best of his knowledge, every item in this universe is a flawless replica, a prototype of an actual object.
Though there exist copies, none of Plato’s original works have survived to this day. Written on Egyptian papyrus, the first known copy of the philosopher’s writings was discovered at Pemdzhe, 160 kilometers southwest of Cairo.
The works of Plato comprise the Platonic Corpus. The preservation of the philosopher’s collected works is due to Aristophanes of Byzantium, the ancient Greek bibliographer. By the way, he was the one who organized Plato’s works into trilogies first.
Afterwards, Thrasyllus of Menda, the philosopher, and Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, the court astrologer, reorganized. The division of Plato’s works into tetralogies by Thrasyllus is still in use today.
Other attempts were made to arrange and classify the philosopher’s writings. Popular is the rendition by the Russian classical scholar Alexei Fedorovich Losev. Four periods can be distinguished in Plato’s books, according to Losev: the early (“Crito”, “Charmides”, etc.), the transitional (“Euthydemus”, “Ion”, etc.), the mature (“Timaeus”, “Republic”, etc.), and the late (“Laws” and “After-Law”).
Only Timaeus, one of Plato’s writings, was once accessible to the general public. The remaining writings were translated from ancient Greek into Latin by the Italian scholar Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), who remedied the situation.
Demise
Following Dion of Syracuse’s murder in 354 BC, Plato made his way back to Athens, where he spent the remainder of his life. During his final moments, he started writing a new book titled “On the Good as Such.” The foundation of the work had already been developed by Plato, who also shared it with his students. But he was never able to record his ideas in writing.
Historians reported that Socrates’ pupil never laughed and that he read a volume of the famous poet Aristophanes before bed. Though Plato was a major figure in philosophy, not much is known about his personal life; he rarely referenced himself in his dialogues, save to describe a few minor incidents.
Given his advanced age, Plato exited this world on his birthday in 348 (or 347) BC due to natural causes. These occurrences have multiple versions. One claimed the man passed away at his work, while another claimed it happened during a wedding feast. Although pediculosis is thought to have contributed to the philosopher’s demise, Thomas Stanley claimed in the “History of Philosophy” that Plato suffered significant injury as a result of others spreading such terrible tales about him.