Plato

             In order to better understand Plato's philosophy on life we must first learn about his background. Plato was born in Athens, Greece in 427 B.C. He was the youngest son of Ariston and Perictione, who were both from very well respected and wealthy families. When Plato was a young man, he studied under Cratylus, who was a student of Heraceitus, famed for his cosmology, which is based on fire, being the basic material of the universe. Plato's uncle Charmides was a close friend of Socrates and he introduced the two, and in time, they would eventually become friends. In 409 B.C., Plato joined the Athens military to fight in the Peloponnesian War, which was fought between Athens and Sparta. Plato did not want a military life and had ambition to be involved in politics. At the end of the war in 404 B.C. Plato joined the oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens, but because of there violent acts Plato opted to leave. Plato still had a dream of politics in his life until 399 B.C. when Socrates was executed in Athens; this event changed his beliefs on the political status of Athens and made him decide he no longer wanted to be involved in politics. After Socrates death, Plato left Athens and traveled to Egypt, Sicily, and Italy. It was in Sicily that Plato studied under Pythagoras and came to appreciate the value of mathematics. This event is important because later Plato would come up with ideas that he would derive from mathematics. "...that the reality which scientific thought is seeking must be expressible in mathematical terms, mathematics being the most precise and definite kind of thinking of which we are capable." In 387 B.C. Plato returned home to Athens and founded his Academy, which was devoted to research and instruction in philosophy and sciences. Through out his life, Plato wrote 13 letters and 35 dialogues, which he claimed readers would only understand after long thought, discussion, and questioning. Until h...

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Plato. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:48, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/25787.html