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Plato: The Philosopher Hundreds of years ago, there lived a man whose ideas and writings started a revolution in Philosophy itself. This man is often known as the
Plato Philosopher. According to sources, Plato was born on or around May 21, 427 (or 428) B.C. in Athens, the son of Ariston and Perictione, both of Athenian aristocratic
Plato The great philosopher, Plato, wrote two specific dialogues; the book Timaeus and the book Critias. Plato was a professional teacher who valued intelligence
Plato Plato was a Greek philosopher during the 4th century BCE. He was born in 427BCE, during the "Golden Age of Athens." His birth was three years after the Peloponnesian
Plato Plato was a philosopher and educator in ancient Greece. He was one of the most important thinkers and writers in the history of Western culture. Plato was
Submitted by cheathouse on May 19, 2006
Category: Philosophy
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Hundreds of years ago, there lived a man whose ideas and writings started a revolution in Philosophy itself. This man is often known as the author of a famous piece of writing called "The Republic." His name is Plato. Unlike other philosophers, his writings were in the form of dialogs or debates between 2 or more people. Some of his early work was an attempt to communicate the philosophy and dialectical style of Socrates.
Plato's theory of Forms and his theory of knowledge are so interrelated that they must be discussed together. Influenced by Socrates, Plato was convinced that knowledge is attainable. By this he meant, from thinking and questioning, humans can achieve a greater state of knowledge. He was also convinced of two essential characteristics of knowledge. First, knowledge must be certain and perfect. Second, knowledge must have as its object that which is genuinely real as contrasted with that which is an appearance only. Because that which is fully real must, for Plato, be fixed, permanent, and unchanging, he identified the real with the ideal realm of being as opposed to the physical world of becoming. What this means is that what we see, hear, or touch are merely opinions that people makeup for the true form or idea which exists in the superior realm. A good example of this theory is Plato's myth of the "cave." The myth of the cave describes individuals chained deep within the recesses of a cave. Bound so that vision is restricted, they cannot see one another. The only thing visible is the wall of the cave upon which appear shadows cast by models or statues of animals and objects that are passed before a brightly burning fire. Breaking free, one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. With the aid of the sun, that person sees for the first time the real
world and returns to the cave with the message that the only things they have seen heretofore are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits...
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