Western Classical Thought and Culture

Plato

1

2

1. Plato’s life

Born in 428 or 427 B.C into an aristocratic Athenian family.

Became a student of Socrates.

After Socrates’ death, he decided to devote all his energies to philosophy.

After traveling a while, he returned to Athens and founded a school, the Academy, the first university in the Western world.

Among the most famous of his works was the Republic.

2. Plato’s Task

Like his teacher Socrates, Plato had an intense interest in ethical questions.

Socrates’ fate also taught him that good people will not survive unless society itself is reformed.

Therefore, political philosophy was also a major concern in Plato’s works.

3

3. Plato’s writing style: Dialogue

Dialogue vs. treatise: why does Plato write dialogues?

Popular writing? – to make his works popular couldn’t be the only reason that Plato wrote in dialogues.

a convenient format to the aim of philosophy – final truth

--final truth is not known, ineffable, context-dependent

--dialogue: record the process of struggles, introduce the context

and both sides of the issue.

4

4. The Republic

The questions of the Republic:

• The central questions: What is justice? Is justice choiceworthy in itself or only for accessory advantage? What the best life and the best state?

• Interesting and outrageous ideas: philosopher-king; censorship of poetry and music; equality of man and woman; no private property and community of wives and children…

5