Plato
Plato ( PLAY-toe; Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period.
In Athens, Plato founded the Academy, a philosophical school where he taught the philosophical doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. Plato, or Platon, was a pen name derived, apparently, from the nickname given to him by his wrestling coach – allegedly a reference to his physical girth. According to Alexander Polyhistor, quoted by Diogenes Laërtius, his actual name was Aristocles, son of Ariston, of the deme (suburb) Collytus, in Athens.Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy. His most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He is the namesake of Platonic love and the Platonic solids. His own most decisive philosophical influences are usually thought to have been, along with Socrates, the pre-Socratics Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although few of his predecessors’ works remain extant and much of what is known about these figures today derives from Plato himself.Along with his teacher, Socrates, and student Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Unlike the work of nearly all of his contemporaries, Plato’s entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years. Although their popularity has fluctuated, Plato’s works have consistently been read and studied. Through Neoplatonism Plato also greatly influenced both Christian (through e.g. Augustine of Hippo) and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi, Al-Kindi). In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: “the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
Plato’s so-called unwritten doctrines are metaphysical theories ascribed to him by his students and other ancient philosophers but not clearly formulated in his writings. In recent research, they are sometimes known as Plato’s ‘principle theory’ (German: Prinzipienlehre) because they involve two fundamental principles from which the rest of the system derives. Plato is thought to have orally expounded these doctrines to Aristotle and the other students in the Academy and they were afterwards transmitted to later generations.
The credibility of the sources that ascribe these doctrines to Plato is controversial. They indicate that Plato believed certain parts of his teachings were not suitable for open publication. Since these doctrines could not be explained in writing in a way that would be accessible to general readers, their dissemination would lead to misunderstandings. Plato therefore supposedly limited himself to teaching the unwritten doctrines to his more advanced students in the Academy. The surviving evidence for the content of the unwritten doctrines is thought to derive from this oral teaching.
In the middle of the twentieth century, historians of philosophy initiated a wide-ranging project aiming at systematically reconstructing the foundations of the unwritten doctrines. The group of researchers who led this investigation, which became well known among classicists and historians, came to be called the ‘Tübingen School’ (in German: Tübinger Platonschule), because some of its leading members were based at the University of Tübingen in southern Germany. On the other hand, numerous scholars had serious reservations about the project or even condemned it altogether. Many critics thought the evidence and sources used in the Tübingen reconstruction were insufficient. Others even contested the existence of the unwritten doctrines or at least doubted their systematic character and considered them mere tentative proposals. The intense and sometimes polemical disputes between the advocates and critics of the Tübingen School were conducted on both sides with great energy. Advocates suggested it amounted to a ‘paradigm shift’ in Plato studies.
Plato’s most controversial ideas include the abolition of the traditional family in his ideal city, which involved communal child-rearing and the elimination of private marriage for the guardian classes; his extreme censorship of the arts, which he viewed as a deceptive imitation of reality and believed should be banned to avoid corrupting the citizens; and his proposal of a state ruled by “philosopher-kings”, an authoritarian concept that raises concerns about individual freedom and the practical challenges of implementing such a system.
Politics and society
- Philosopher-kings: He argued that the ideal state should be ruled by a select group of “philosopher-kings” who possess superior knowledge and wisdom. This has been criticized as authoritarian and impractical, especially when contrasted with modern democratic values.
- Censorship: Plato advocated for strict censorship of art, music, and literature to ensure they promoted virtues deemed essential for the city’s stability. He believed art, as an imitation of a flawed physical world, could mislead people from seeking truth and was therefore dangerous.
- Abolition of family: For the guardian classes, he proposed the abolition of the private family. Wives and children would be communal, and parents would not know their own children to prevent family loyalty from overriding loyalty to the state.
Equality and gender
- Contradictory views on women: While advocating for women to be educated and have a role in governance, he also made contradictory claims about their intellectual and emotional capabilities. He compared the female reproductive system to a “rebellious animal” and suggested women were less capable of logical thought due to their biology.
Metaphysics and ethics
- Theory of Forms: Some find Plato’s theory of a higher reality of perfect, unchanging “Forms” controversial, arguing it devalues the physical world and practical experience as a source of knowledge.
- Reincarnation and recollection: Plato’s belief in reincarnation is debated by scholars, particularly in how it relates to his theory of knowledge as a form of recollection (anamnesis). This idea suggests that true knowledge is not learned but is a memory of the soul’s prior existence.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://interface.org.tw/index.php/if/article/view/228/612
[2] https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Platos-Republic-so-controversial
[3] https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-controversial-things-that-Plato-said
[5] https://www.cram.com/essay/Three-Controversial-Waves-In-Platos-Republic/PCJWFWYWP6
[6] https://teachdemocracy.org/online-lesson/plato-and-aristotle-on-tyranny-and-the-rule-of-law/
[7] https://greekreporter.com/2024/07/14/plato-best-worst-ideas/
[8] https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/five-things-which-plato-got-absolutely-wrong-3726c1b04418
Platonic dialectic is a method of philosophical inquiry based on dialogue between two or more people to discover truth by moving from opposing arguments to a higher understanding or synthesis. It is a conversation that involves question and answer, refuting false assumptions, and synthesizing ideas to move from the world of senses to the world of unchanging Forms or ultimate truths. This process aims to refine concepts and discover flaws in one’s own thinking, rather than to win a debate.
Key components of Platonic dialectic
- Dialogue and conversation: It is a two-person (or more) engagement, famously modeled in Plato’s dialogues, where one person, often a guide like Socrates, asks methodical questions to guide the other person toward truth.
- Thesis and antithesis: The method involves presenting a proposition (thesis) and then using a counter-proposition (antithesis) to explore its flaws.
- Refutation and synthesis: Through a process of questioning and refutation, the speakers eliminate incorrect ideas and work toward a new, more refined understanding (synthesis).
- Transition from the sensible to the intelligible: The ultimate goal is to move beyond the changing, sensory world of opinions to grasp the unchanging, intelligible world of Forms. This is achieved by examining and testing concepts until one can arrive at a unified, higher principle.
- Preparation for higher insight: This intellectual training prepares the mind for a more intuitive grasp of the Forms, or ultimate reality.
Example
In the dialogue Euthyphro, Socrates engages Euthyphro in a conversation about piety. Socrates’s questioning reveals the contradictions and inconsistencies in Euthyphro’s definitions, forcing him to reconsider his initial ideas and leading to a better understanding of what piety is.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/72urxd/platos_dialectic_method_can_someone_eli5/
[7] https://journals.ku.edu/auslegung/article/download/12901/12197/25532
[9] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/euthyphro-plato
[10] https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/94952/student-old/?task=13
[11] https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Anci/AnciFort.htm
[12] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/euthyphro-plato
[13] http://web2.bilkent.edu.tr/cci/5173l5vlxll-_sy344_bo1204203200_/
[14] https://medium.com/eduvators/bridging-2300-years-8643aa84aad7
Quotes
- “Either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. For if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams, and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life, and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one, I think that any man (…) will not find many such days or nights, when compared with the others. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night” ― Plato, Apology
- “χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά Nothing beautiful without struggle.” ― Plato, The Republic