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AUTHORS: Plato |
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| Plato is considered by most as one
of the greatest philosophers. He was also one of
the first, and because of this, little is known
about his life. He was probably born in 427 BC,
and died around 347 BC, aged about 80. Beyond
that, nothing we have written of him dates before
hundreds of years after his death. He also almost
never talked about himself in his writings, but
the VIIth Letter is about the closest thing to an
autobiography that we can hope for. Most of what
can be said for his life, therefore, is
ultimately only an educated guess. Bearing this in mind, it is thought that Plato was born to one of the noblest families in Athens, supposedly related to the legendary kings of Athens and to Solon. One of the most important events in his life was his meeting with Socrates, after which he became a follower until Socrates’ death in 399 BC. Socrates would be the most important influence on Plato’s later writing. With his lineage, Plato should have entered politics, but he says in the VIIth Letter that he became disillusioned by what he saw of Athenian politics and came to the conclusion that, unless there was a change in education, mankind’s fate was hopeless. For this reason he opened the Academy to educate future city leaders. From then on most of his life was dedicated to teaching and running his school. Nothing is known about when Plato wrote each one of his dialogues, or even if they were published while he was alive. When he died, he was succeeded at his school by his nephew, and the school continued to function for centuries after his death. List Of Works: Euthyphro Apology Crito Phædo Cratylus Theætetus Sophist Statesman Parmenides Philebus Symposium Phædrus Alcibiades 2nd Alcibiades Hipparchus Rival Lovers Theages Charmides Laches Lysis Euthydemus Protagoras Gorgias Meno Hippias major Hippias minor Ion Menexenus Clitophon Republic Timæus Critias Minos Laws Epinomis Letters |