Plato Essay

Plato

Twenty-four centuries ago the foundation of Western culture was slowly being unraveled, along with Plato’s discoveries, which still have an impact on Western culture. Plato was a student of Socrates, learning that the most efficient path to wisdom is through rational thinking. Plato believed that being a philosopher was the highest form of life.  Throughout Plato’s life he was a major contributor towards society whether it was by learning from Socrates, providing his own teachings, or by investing in the future of education.  

Socrates was the first recognized philosopher.  Plato obtained a significant amount of wisdom through Socrates.   Even after Socrates’s death, Plato continued the tradition that Socrates’s had and started questioning everything in a search for perfect wisdom.  Plato also learned the important of virtue.  Without virtue a person can never be completely happy and fulfilled.  They were both very curious about people and the environment around them.  Plato had the utmost respect for Socrates.  He wrote several books about him and his philosophies.  He founded a school he called the Academy where he taught young men about Socrates and Socrates’s ideas.  If it wasn’t for Plato idolizing Socrates and writing down his thoughts, we may not look at Greek philosophers as highly.  Socrates was also responsible for the Socratic method.  Creating the Socratic method would ultimately become his downfall.  If it were not for Socrates questioning everything he did, he may have never suffered the horrid death by being forced to drink poison.  

In Plato’s The Republic, there is a series of equations where he attempts to answer questions concerning human behavior and justice.  Plato argues that the philosopher kings should be the most dominant members of society because all philosophers love wisdom and wisdom is the key to success.  He also believed that political rule depends on knowledge, which philosopher kings have, rather than power.  According to Plato, philosophers were the most qualified people to rule.  He stressed that it was only by being a philosopher that one could make rational choices and guide the people through the hardships of Athens.  Philosophers must posses’ qualities that enable them to rule; for instance you must know the difference between friend and foe, good and bad.  Above all philosophers must “love wisdom”  (Nichols).   Plato believed that an ideal society consists of only three classes: the producers such as the farmers, the auxiliaries or the warriors, and the guardians also known as the rulers.  Plato envisioned a harmonious democratic society where each person had a function, or, as he would call it, a deliberation.  

One of Plato’s most important ideas was called the theory of forms. This theory looks at how is it possible to know what something is by having the perfect idea in our souls. “Plato believe that human souls are made up of three parts: desire, will and reason.” (Rowe) Desire is what gives us our motivation to want things. Our will is how we control what we want. Our reasoning is what keeps us thinking rationally. However, if all three parts that make up the soul were not functioning properly that person would be considered mad. Plato emphasized the importance of the soul and how if all that components that make up a soul are well balanced that the individual would become virtuous. A virtuous person in the eyes of Plato was the perfect person.      

Plato envisioned a place of learning where people could study the teachings of mathematics, philosophy, and theoretical astronomy.  He founded the very first university in 387 B.C., called The Academy.   Plato’s university was intended to enhance education and establish a community of intellectuals with the intent of achieving a better education at the same time.  Another significant fact regarding this university is that Plato allowed for both men and women to study here.  This was a much different time and most of the educational systems were only offered to white males.   It wasn’t until Plato opened The Academy that women would be able to attend universities.  By allowing both men and women to study at the same university says a lot about his character and how he was truly a passionate person who believed in equal education for all.   This concept is widely used in our world today with each state having there own academies, or universities. “The earliest American universities, like their European counterparts, were deeply rooted in the classical Western tradition emanating from Greece.”(Wheatly) If it were not for Plato, I wound not be writing this exact paper.