My Final Post
Aristocles, was one of Greece's most famous philosophers. Oh wait, you might want to know who Aristocles is. Aristocles was actually Plato’s real name. He got the name Plato from the word Platon which means broad. His body must have been very broad. His mother was named Perictione and his father was named Ariston. His Mother remarried to Pyrilampes because his Father had died when he was younger. He had two brothers, Adeimantus and Glaucon and one sister, Potone. His family had studied and had a job and history in politics. Plato was expected to continue his family's history. When he was younger, he studied music and poetry. One of his biggest influences was his teacher, another philosopher named Socrates. When he was in Socrates class, he studied the virtue and formation of a noble character. Later he joined the military for 5 years. After the peloponnesian war ended in 404 BC he joined the thirty tyrants. When Socrates was executed in 399 BC, Plato decided to drop his life as a politician and become a philosopher.
He left the Thirty Tyrants in disappointment. After he decided to be a philosopher, he traveled around the world to learn more about philosophy from other philosophers since his professor was executed. When he left, he went to Megara with his friend Euclides to visit Theodorus in Cyrene. Along his way, he met some other thinkers like Pythagoras and Parmenides. After that, he went to Italy to meet Pythagoras. He then went to Egypt. The people he met along the way taught him a little bit of metaphysics and epistemology. In case you didn’t know, Metaphysics is the theory of reality which questions things like if numbers or gods exist. Epistemology is the theory of knowledge. It asks questions like what is it to know something or what things can we know? During his travels, he learned the philosophy of contemporaries, geometry, geology, astronomy, and religion. He along his way, he met wise-men, priests, and prophets on his journey. He is known as the worlds first metaphysical thinker.
His extensive writing period is divided into three groups. His first period is called the Socratic Dialogues because Plato wrote down everything that Socrates taught him. He wrote the books in 399 and 387 BC. The time when he was traveling. During this period, he wrote the texts The Apology, Crito, Laches, Lysis, Charmides, Euthyphro, and Hippias Minor and Major.
Plato returned to Athens in 387 BC. When he returned, he created the Academy of Athens which is known as the first European University. The school taught astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Most of what we know about Socrates comes from Plato writing it down.
His next period is known as the transitional period. It last from 387 to 361 BC. The difference between the texts from the Socratic Dialogues and the transitional period is that he started writing all of Socrates theories down and then he started writing what his thoughts and theories down. He said that to everything we see there is a perfect virtue. His most famous text is called The Republic. The text discusses the virtue of justice, courage, wisdom, and moderation of the society and an individual. His most known story is called The Allegory of the Cave. Allegory means metaphor or symbol.
Plato was invited to be a tutor to the new ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius II. When he accepted the invitation, he found that there was no opportunity to do philosophy. Plato tutored him until Syracuse went to war two years later.
When Plato returned to the Academy of Athens, his most famous student Aristotle came. A few years later, Syracuse’s uncle and guardian wanted him to return. When he got there he thought it was much more unpleasant than the first time he had come so he left.
When he returned to Athens, he spent the rest of his life writing and conversing and running his school. He influenced logic and legal philosophy. He thought that mathematics were very important so he made the foundations of Euclid’s system of mathematics.
The next section is caled the later dialogues. Plato wrote a little bit of what Socrates said but mostly of his own. He took a closer look at his metaphysical speculations.
Plato died in 347 BC and gave the academy to his sister’s son Speusippus.
Plato’s thoughts and ideas:
All things have a true being
The world we live in is a poor imitation of the real world
The material world is constantly changing
We rely on our senses to rely what’s going on
The real world is outside of the world we live in
In the real world, there are perfect forms of the on we know of on earth
There is only one form or essence to apples and this one form forms the many
There is no such thing as a perfect apple in the material world, they are all just imperfect reflections of the form of apples or appleness
He left the Thirty Tyrants in disappointment. After he decided to be a philosopher, he traveled around the world to learn more about philosophy from other philosophers since his professor was executed. When he left, he went to Megara with his friend Euclides to visit Theodorus in Cyrene. Along his way, he met some other thinkers like Pythagoras and Parmenides. After that, he went to Italy to meet Pythagoras. He then went to Egypt. The people he met along the way taught him a little bit of metaphysics and epistemology. In case you didn’t know, Metaphysics is the theory of reality which questions things like if numbers or gods exist. Epistemology is the theory of knowledge. It asks questions like what is it to know something or what things can we know? During his travels, he learned the philosophy of contemporaries, geometry, geology, astronomy, and religion. He along his way, he met wise-men, priests, and prophets on his journey. He is known as the worlds first metaphysical thinker.
His extensive writing period is divided into three groups. His first period is called the Socratic Dialogues because Plato wrote down everything that Socrates taught him. He wrote the books in 399 and 387 BC. The time when he was traveling. During this period, he wrote the texts The Apology, Crito, Laches, Lysis, Charmides, Euthyphro, and Hippias Minor and Major.
Plato returned to Athens in 387 BC. When he returned, he created the Academy of Athens which is known as the first European University. The school taught astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Most of what we know about Socrates comes from Plato writing it down.
His next period is known as the transitional period. It last from 387 to 361 BC. The difference between the texts from the Socratic Dialogues and the transitional period is that he started writing all of Socrates theories down and then he started writing what his thoughts and theories down. He said that to everything we see there is a perfect virtue. His most famous text is called The Republic. The text discusses the virtue of justice, courage, wisdom, and moderation of the society and an individual. His most known story is called The Allegory of the Cave. Allegory means metaphor or symbol.
Plato was invited to be a tutor to the new ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius II. When he accepted the invitation, he found that there was no opportunity to do philosophy. Plato tutored him until Syracuse went to war two years later.
When Plato returned to the Academy of Athens, his most famous student Aristotle came. A few years later, Syracuse’s uncle and guardian wanted him to return. When he got there he thought it was much more unpleasant than the first time he had come so he left.
When he returned to Athens, he spent the rest of his life writing and conversing and running his school. He influenced logic and legal philosophy. He thought that mathematics were very important so he made the foundations of Euclid’s system of mathematics.
The next section is caled the later dialogues. Plato wrote a little bit of what Socrates said but mostly of his own. He took a closer look at his metaphysical speculations.
Plato died in 347 BC and gave the academy to his sister’s son Speusippus.
Plato’s thoughts and ideas:
All things have a true being
The world we live in is a poor imitation of the real world
The material world is constantly changing
We rely on our senses to rely what’s going on
The real world is outside of the world we live in
In the real world, there are perfect forms of the on we know of on earth
There is only one form or essence to apples and this one form forms the many
There is no such thing as a perfect apple in the material world, they are all just imperfect reflections of the form of apples or appleness