This article about the Greek philosopher, Plato, is offered through the
philosophy pages website. Plato was the son of wealthy
and influential Athenian parents. Some scholars believe his real name was Aristocles, as it ws the name of his grandfather. They believe one of his teachers gave him the name of Plato. His philosophical career began when he bacame student of Socrates. Plato rejected his noble upbringing in favor of
philosophy. After the execution of Socrates, Plato was determined to live a life of philosophy and studied with the students of Pythagoras. He was also instrumental in advising the ruling family of Syracuse for several years.Later he returned to Athens and opened up his own school of philosophy there. One of his students was Aristotle. The influence of Socrates was ingrained in Plato, and it was his philosophies that he taught in the shcool. Socrates sought not mere victory over his opponents but a genuine knowledge. As Socrates never wrote anything on his philosophies, Plato was left to put ink to parchment and record them. He presented accurate reports of dialogue in order to capture the truths of Socrates. Interestingly, he never wrote himself as a participant in these
dialogues. Discussions range from the topics of virtues to human knowledge to the Socratice notion that no one knowingly does wrong. Later, Plato's writings will steer away from the dialogue structure he embraced earlier. He writes of the treatment of government, comsmological speculations, and the theory of forms. The story of Atlantis is attributed to Plato. There appears to be no mention of Atlantis prior to him. Many believe Atlantis to be a myth manufactured by Plato to fit a specific pupose in his dialogues, not to have people search for a lost continent. He is said to have been an accomplished writer of poetry and tragedy. Plato, in his myth of the cave, suggests humans are like men sitting in a cave seeing shadows on the wall. Plato is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He is known as a father figure in Philosophy. Reading this article will help you gain a better understanding of Plato.