347 BC), Greek philosopher, one of the most creative and influential thinkers in Western philosophy.LifePlato was born to an aristocratic family in Athens. When Plato was a child, his father died, and his mother married Pyrilampes, who was an associate of the statesman PericlesAs a young man Plato had political ambitions, but he became disillusioned by the political leadership in Athens. Plato witnessed the death of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 BC. In 387 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the institution often described as the first European university. Aristotle was the Academy's most prominent student.Pursuing an opportunity to combine philosophy and practical politics, Plato went to Sicily in 367 to tutor the new ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius the Younger, in the art of philosophical rule. WorksPlato's writings were in dialogue form; philosophical ideas were advanced, discussed, and criticized in the context of a conversation or debate involving two or more persons.The earliest collection of Plato's work includes 35 dialogues and 13 letters. Early DialoguesThe earliest represent Plato's attempt to communicate the philosophy and dialectical style of Socrates. Several of these dialogues take the same form. Middle and Late DialoguesThe dialogues of the middle and later periods of Plato's life reflect his own philosophical development. The writings of the middle period include Gorgias (a consideration of several ethical questions), Meno (a discussion of the nature of knowledge), the Apology (Socrates' defense of himself at his trial against the charges of atheism and corrupting Athenian youth), Crito (Socrates' defense obedience to the laws of the state), Phaedo (the death scene of Socrates, in which he discusses the theory of Forms, the nature of the soul, and the question of immortality), the Symposium (Plato's outstanding dramatic achievement, which contains several speeches on beauty and love), the Republ...
