Plato

Plato (/ˈpleɪtoʊ/ PLAY-toe;[1] Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. 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 broadness. According to Alexander of Miletus quoted by Diogenes of Sinope his actual name was Aristocles, son of Ariston, of the deme Collytus (Collytus being a district of Athens).[2]

Quick facts: Plato, Born, Died, Notable work, Era... ▼

Plato
Roman copy of a portrait bust c. 370 BC
Born	428/427 or 424/423 BC Athens, Greece
Died	348/347 BC (aged c. 80) Athens, Greece
Notable work	Euthyphro Apology Crito Phaedo Meno Protagoras Gorgias Symposium Phaedrus Parmenides Theaetetus Republic Timaeus
Era	Ancient Greek philosophy
School	Platonic Academy
Notable students	Aristotle
Main interests	Epistemology, Metaphysics Political philosophy
Notable ideas	Allegory of the Cave Cardinal virtues Form of the Good Theory of forms Divisions of the soul Platonic love Platonic solids Atlantis
Influences Pythagoras Heraclitus Parmenides Socrates
Influenced Virtually all subsequent Western philosophy

Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what later became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy. His most famous contribution is the Theory of forms, which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He is also 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 we know about these figures today derives from Plato himself.[lower-alpha 1]

Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy.[lower-alpha 2] 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.[6] Although their popularity has fluctuated, Plato's works have consistently been read and studied.[7] Through Neoplatonism Plato also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi). 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."[8]