Why Plato was the greatest philosopher of the ancient world

Plato was born into a period of significant political turmoil and intellectual vibrancy around 428/427 BCE in Athens, Greece.

His birth coincided with the early years of the Peloponnesian War, a prolonged conflict between Athens and Sparta that reshaped the Greek world.

Born into an aristocratic family, Plato was positioned from the outset to experience the intersection of politics, philosophy, and culture.

His father, Ariston, claimed descent from the kings of Athens and Messenia, while his mother, Perictione, was related to the prominent lawmaker Solon.

The environment of Plato's youth was one where politics and intellectual inquiry were deeply intertwined.

Athens, the heart of Greek democracy and philosophical thought, provided a fertile ground for his intellectual growth.

The city was home to a variety of thinkers and teachers, including Socrates, who would become Plato's mentor and a central figure in his philosophical writings.

Plato's education was comprehensive, encompassing gymnastics, music, and grammar, typical of Athenian youth training but likely expanded due to his family's status.

This education was crucial in shaping his philosophical perspective, especially his ideas about virtue and the ideal state.

Socrates, a famous figure in Athens known for his distinctive approach to philosophy and teaching, did not write down his teachings.

Instead, his ideas and methods were passed down primarily through the accounts of his students, most notably Plato.

Socrates' commitment to questioning perceived wisdom and his method of dialectical reasoning, where knowledge is sought through questions, answers, and further questions, became a cornerstone of Plato's philosophy.

Plato met Socrates as a young man and became his devoted follower. This relationship was pivotal, introducing Plato to a new method of thinking and understanding the world.

Socrates' style, characterized by his relentless questioning and probing into the nature of virtues, truth, and the good life, left a significant imprint on Plato.

Socrates’ method of dialogue, a conversational process of hypothesis elimination, deeply influenced Plato's own philosophical writing style, which predominantly took the form of dialogues.

The execution of Socrates in 399 BCE, on charges of corrupting the youth and impiety, was a turning point for Plato.

This event, which took place when Plato was around 28 years old, shook his faith in the Athenian political system and instilled in him a lifelong distrust of democracy as he experienced it in Athens.

It spurred Plato to delve deeper into philosophical questions, particularly those concerning ethics and politics.

In his works, Plato often used Socrates as a character to explore these themes, immortalizing his mentor's ideas and methods.

Central to Plato's philosophy is the Theory of Forms, a concept proposing that the material world as perceived by our senses is not the true reality but merely an imitation of a higher, eternal, and unchangeable realm of Forms or Ideas.

These Forms are abstract, perfect, and unchanging concepts or ideals that transcend time and space.

For example, Plato posited that a Form of Beauty itself exists, of which all beautiful things are mere imitations.

Another key aspect of Plato's philosophy is his view on epistemology, the theory of knowledge.

Plato distinguished between opinion, or doxa, and certain knowledge, or episteme.

He argued that true knowledge is only attainable through philosophical reasoning and is about the Forms.

This view is famously illustrated in his Allegory of the Cave, found in "The Republic," where he depicts most of humanity as imprisoned in a cave, mistaking shadows for reality, and only a few manage to escape to see the world as it truly is, illuminated by the sun, which symbolizes the Form of the Good.

Plato's political philosophy, primarily outlined in "The Republic," introduces the concept of an ideal state governed by philosopher-kings.

These rulers, distinguished by their ability to perceive the Forms, particularly the Form of the Good, are best suited to govern society.

Plato's ideal state also includes the notion of a tripartite structure of the soul, which he parallels with the three classes of society: the rational (rulers), the spirited (warriors), and the appetitive (producers).

Ethics in Plato's philosophy is closely tied to his Theory of Forms. He believed that understanding the Form of the Good is crucial for moral knowledge and living a virtuous life.

Virtue, for Plato, is knowledge, implying that knowing the good automatically leads to doing the good.

Plato also delved into areas of metaphysics, exploring the nature of reality, existence, and the soul.

He posited that the soul is immortal and undergoes a cycle of reincarnation. He believed that the soul possesses innate knowledge of the Forms, which is 'recollected' through philosophical reasoning.

Plato's establishment of the Academy around 387 BCE in Athens marked a pivotal moment in the history of Western education and philosophy.

The Academy, named after the Greek hero Academus and located in a grove near Athens, was not just a school in the traditional sense but a center for intellectual inquiry and discussion.

It was here that Plato, along with other scholars, conducted research and engaged in philosophical dialogues, attracting students from across the Greek world.

The Academy's curriculum was diverse, encompassing not only philosophy but also mathematics, astronomy, and possibly other sciences.

This multidisciplinary approach reflected Plato's belief in a well-rounded education as the foundation for understanding the deeper truths of the universe.

The school functioned more like a community of scholars and learners, with no clear distinction between teachers and students, emphasizing the Socratic method of questioning and dialogue as a way of learning.

One of the Academy's most significant contributions was its role in fostering critical thinking and intellectual discourse.

Under Plato's guidance, it became a place where ideas could be freely explored and debated, a novel concept at the time.

The Academy's influence extended beyond its immediate geographical and temporal boundaries, with its ideas and teaching methods laying the groundwork for future academic institutions.

Plato presided over the Academy until his death in 347 BCE, after which it continued to operate for several centuries, evolving and adapting its teachings under various leaders.

The longevity and influence of the Academy were remarkable, maintaining its status as a center of learning until its closure by the Roman emperor Justinian in 529 CE. 

The influence of Plato on later philosophers has been profound and extensive, shaping the course of Western philosophy for centuries.

Aristotle, Plato's most famous student, spent twenty years at the Academy and while he eventually developed his own philosophical system, his work was deeply influenced by his teacher's ideas.

Aristotle's critiques and expansions of Platonic thought, particularly in areas such as metaphysics, ethics, and politics, laid the groundwork for much of subsequent Western philosophy.

During the Hellenistic period, following the death of Aristotle in 322 BCE, Plato's ideas continued to be influential.

Philosophers such as Plotinus, in the 3rd century CE, further developed Platonic philosophy, giving rise to Neoplatonism.

This movement, which sought to synthesize Plato's ideas with other philosophical and religious traditions, had a significant impact on early Christian thought, particularly on figures like Augustine of Hippo in the late 4th and early 5th centuries.

Augustine's incorporation of Platonic ideas into Christian theology was crucial in the development of Christian doctrine and the medieval worldview.

In the Renaissance, the revival of interest in classical learning led to a renewed engagement with Plato's works.

Philosophers such as Marsilio Ficino in the 15th century played a key role in this revival, translating Plato's works into Latin and promoting Platonic philosophy as a central component of the Renaissance intellectual movement.

This period saw a shift from the dominance of Aristotelian thought in the Middle Ages to a more balanced appreciation of both Aristotle's and Plato's contributions.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw the emergence of rationalism and empiricism, philosophical movements that, while often diverging from Platonic thought, still engaged deeply with the questions and themes that Plato had explored.

Philosophers like Descartes, Leibniz, and Hume, despite their differing approaches, grappled with issues of knowledge, reality, and the nature of existence that Plato had first articulated.

In modern philosophy, Plato's influence can be seen in the work of philosophers like Hegel and Whitehead.

Hegel, in the 19th century, saw his dialectical method as an extension of the Socratic dialogue, while Whitehead famously remarked that all of Western philosophy is but a series of footnotes to Plato.