Plato: Who was, summary, thought and philosophy

Plato was one of the most prominent philosophers of Ancient Greece and the Western world. His thoughts and doctrines marked many of his disciples who followed him until the day of his death. In his writings we can find references to justice, equality, art or beauty, as well as being an excellent theorist on topics such as politics or religion. The philosopher was born in the city of Athena in 427 BC in the bosom of a family of aristocrats. His real name was Aristocles, but he coined that of Plato thanks to a nickname that his gymnastics teacher told him meant “the broad-shouldered one.” His life was marked by the study of the different arts and the philosophy of gymnastics. time, being a disciple of Socrates whom he met when he was 20 years old. The relationship of master disciple that he maintained with the philosopher deeply marked his convictions and way of thinking in the later years. Fundamental ideas One of the characteristics of Plato’s works, of which they are known almost in their entirety, is that they were written in form dialogue. This method allowed him to develop his own Socratic method, in addition to being an unprecedented pedagogical sample. In his theory of ideas, where all his philosophy was embodied, two worlds coexisted: ideas and things. Both separated but united. In ideas the senses were not distinguished, however, in that of things, it was a more sensitive world, where everything was perfectly perceived by the senses. Plato’s reality was intelligible on the one hand, which was eternal, and on the other. other side the sensible reality formed by things. He distinguished his world of ideas in three steps:first the ideas of good, with aesthetic and ethical objects; then the mathematical ideas; and finally the ideas of things. Notable influences Not only Socrates influenced the work and thought of Plato. The school of Pythagoras, the Pythagoreans like Archytas, also marked the personality and thought of the Athenian. His own disciples such as Aristotle or characters such as Cicero, admitted that the Pythagorean school marked Plato deeply.Like the ideas of Pythagoras, the pre-Socratic thought of philosophers such as Heraclitus and Parmenides were very present in Plato’s texts, which they helped to create his theory of ideas and things.