Philosophy platos ideas simplified
•
Plato: A Theory of Forms
Your complimentary articles
You’ve read one of your four complimentary articles for this month.
You can read four articles free per month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Plato
David Macintosh explains Plato’s Theory of Forms or Ideas.
For the non-philosopher, Plato’s Theory of Forms can seem difficult to grasp. If we can place this theory into its historical and cultural context perhaps it will begin to man a little more sense.
Plato was born somewhere in B.C., possibly in Athens, at a time when Athenian democracy was already well developed. He belonged to a wealthy and aristocratic family. Plato’s family were involved in Athenian politics, so it fryst vatten likely that Plato was no stranger to politics himself. He was also the founder of the Academy in Athens, which can be regarded as the Western world’s first university, and its first school of philo
•
Trending Posts
There were three seminal Greek philosophers that lived during the Classical age of Athens. These three were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. One of the most widely recognized philosophers, Plato was the student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. His ideas shaped modern day philosophy and his beliefs are still revered today. At the forefront of Western philosophy, Plato laid down his theories of government, Forms, knowledge, love, and recollection in his memorable dialogues.
Born circa B.C, Aristocles lived with a wealthy family probably in Athens. There is a scarcity of knowledge in regards to his childhood. You may be wondering what the difference between Plato and Aristocles is. Wrestling was a very popular sport in Greece; Aristocles was reportedly an amazing wrestler, and one theory suggests that his teacher called him Plato, Greek for broad. Because his mentor Socrates was sentenced to death by the state, Plato felt great antipathy for democracy. This led
•
An Introduction to Plato and His Philosophical Ideas
Plato was one of the most famous, respected, and influential philosophers of all time. A type of love (Platonic) is named for him. We know the Greek philosopher Socrates mostly through Plato's dialogues. Atlantis enthusiasts know Plato for his parable about it in Timaeus and other descriptions from Critias.
He saw tripartite structures in the world around him. His social structure theory had a governing class, warriors, and workers. He thought the human soul contained reason, spirit, and appetite.
He may have founded an institution of learning known as the Academy, from which we get the word academic.
- Name: Aristocles [don't confuse the name with Aristotle], but known as Plato
- Place of Birth: Athens
- Dates / to B.C.
- Occupation: Philosopher
The Name 'Plato'
Plato was originally named Aristocles, but one of his teachers gave him the familiar name, either because of the breadth of his shou