Plato Biography & Works

Plato, born in 428 B.C. was the son of wealthy as well as influential Athenian parents. His philosophical career began as a student of Socrates. After Socrates' passing, Plato Traveled to Egypt and Italy and furthered his studies with students of Pythagoras, and spent some years as an advisor to the ruling family of Syracuse. After his eventual return to Athens, Plato established a school of philosophy at the Academy. As a teacher he worked hard to pass on the heritage of the Socratic style of thinking, as well as using mathematical learning to guide their progress in understanding philosophical truth.

Plato, early on in his literary career, tried to communicate the spirit of Socrates' teachings by accurately reporting of his teachings through his dialogues. Plato's early dialogues are generally devoted to investigating a singular issue, which rarely result in a resolution. Although his middle dialogues continue the tradition of using Socrates as a fictional figure, they are mainly used as tools to more firmly establish his own conclusions about major philosophical topics.

The masterpiece among Plato's middle dialogues is Politeia (Republic). This dialogue starts off with Socratic conversation about the characteristics and nature of justice; however, it is preceded by discussions about the virtues of justice, wisdom, courage, as well as moderation as they appear in both individuals and the society as a whole.

Plato's later writings more readily modify or entirely jettison the formal structure of dialogue. Instead they critically examine the theory of forms, the problem of knowledge, cosmological speculations, as well as political topics. The final years of his life were dedicated to lecturing at the Academy and writing. He died at about the age of 80 in Athens in 348 or 347 BC.

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