Plato is often considered one of the greatest and most influential thinkers in Western Philosophy. He is commonly known for producing works in dialectical, as opposed to prose, form. The hero, or main character, in his dialogues is usually Socrates, whom many scholars regard to be Plato’s teacher, if not his personal mentor. Plato is also famous for his “theory of the forms”, which suggests that perfection cannot be found in our experience of phenomena, but must instead be found in a higher realm, inaccessible to our senses. Plato’s most famous student was Aristotle, who, like his teacher, commands great influence and enjoys a respected legacy.
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References
- Annas, Julia. Plato: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2003.
- Blackburn, Simon. Plato: A Biography. Grove Press, 2008.
- Kaplan, Justin, editor. Dialogues of Plato: The Jowett Translations. Washington Square P: 1970.
- Kraut, Richard. “Plato.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2013, plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato. Accessed 14 April 2017.
- Plato. Phaedo. Translated by David Gallop, Oxford UP, 2009.
- Taylor, A.E. Plato: The Man and his Work. Dover Publications, 2011.