PLATO

Birth: 428-427 BC
Death: 348-347 BC
 Reference:
COPLESTON, Frederick, A
History of Philosophy, Volume I,
Greece and Rome, Doubleday,
New York 1993.
YARZA, Ignatius, History of
Ancient Philosophy, Sinag-tala,
Manila, 1994.
ORIGIN OF GREEK
PHILOSOPHY
Pre-Socratic Philosophers
 Pre-Socratic
The earlier Greek philosophers
had been chiefly interested in
trying to determine the ultimate
principle of all things: the arch.
 Pre-Socratic

The birthplace of Greek

philosophy was Ionia.
Homer was from Ionia.
IONIAN PHILOSOPHERS
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes air
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes air

Heraclitus
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes air

Heraclitus fire
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes air

Heraclitus fire

Pythagoreans
The arche of the Ionian
Philosophers
Philosopher arche

Anaximander apeiron = the infinite

Thales of Miletus water

Anaximenes air

Heraclitus fire

Pythagoreans number
ELEATIC PHILOSOPHERS
 Eleatic
Philosophers

Elea was in what is now Italy

 Eleatic
Philosophers

Elea was in what is now Italy

Parmenides: One statement
alone expresses the road to
follow: being is. Being
constitutes the truth.
This is one of the first
statements of a universal
metaphysical principle.
THE PLURALISTS
 The Pluralists
Empedocles: A certain number
of substances, ungenerated,
incorruptible, and always
remaining the same, constitute
the origin of all things: fire,
water, air and earth.
Beginning of the elements.
 The Pluralists

Anaxagoras: The intelligence is

the most subtle and pure of
beings. It knows everything
completely and has maximum
power.
 The Pluralists
The Atomists: Leicippus and
Democritus: Everything, every
qualitative difference in things, is
derived from a number of
qualitatively identical but
geometrically distinct principles.
The cause of the movement of
the atoms is nothing but the very
instability of their nature: they
are, by nature, in constant
motion.
Greek Humanism

The Sophists
 The Sophists
The Sophists turn from the
study of the elements of the
physical world to the nature of
man.
But it was more important for
the Sophists to exploit the
practical consequences of
human nature than to know it.
They wanted to teach others
how to succeed in this world.
 The Sophists
The sophists sought to be paid
for their lessons, not like the
previous philosophers or
Socrates.
Athens had become democratic
and the people were no longer
satisfied being unlearned.
Thus, they sought the classes
of the sophists.
 The Sophists
Because the main aim of the
Sophists was to earn money,
their teaching centered around
helping their students succeed
in life by knowing how to argue
brilliantly.
It did not matter if they were
studying the Truth or not.
Thus, they were criticized by
Socrates.
 Some Sophists

Some Sophists:
Protagoras
Gorgias
PROTAGORAS
Protagoras (484-411B.C.)
The most famous Sophist.
Like Heraclitus, he believed that
the world was in continuous
change.
Therefore, nothing is true. Man
is the one who determines the
truth of an object.
Truth does not exist, what
matters is our ability to
convince.
Protagoras (484-411B.C.)

Man is the measure of all

things things which exist
insofar as they exist, and things
which do not exist in sofar as
they do not exist.
Gorgias (483-375 B.C.)

First: nothing exists.

Second: if anything existed, it
cannot be known to man. Third:
it if can be known, it cannot be
transmitted and explained to
others.
Gorgias (483-375 B.C.)
Words have no meaning.
But words can be used to
control the minds and
manipulate the people.
[Words are] a great tool for
domination; being so small
and invisible, it is yet capable
of accomplishing feats only the
gods can do.
Socrates

The Anti-Sophist
Platos Teacher
 Socrates
Socrates believed in the
existence of the Truth.
So there is a difference
between what is true and what
is false.
The sophists said there was no
difference.
For Socrates there is a
difference between what is
good and what is evil.
 Socrates
Socrates philosophy therefore
centered around knowing what
is true and rejecting what is
false.
His philosophy also centered
around seeking what is good,
and discovering what is evil so
that it can be rejected.
For Socrates, morality was of
utmost importance.
 Socrates

For Socrates, philosophy is the

search for what is true and good
(not merely material success).
 Socrates
Difficult to clearly say what the
exact teaching of Socrates was.
He did not write any book.
All his teaching was verbally
passed on to his disciples.
What we know appears in
writings of his disciples
(especially Plato) and in the
writings of other people.
 Socrates

Virtue and knowledge were

intimately linked in Socrates.
Virtue is true; knowledge is
good.
We become good by knowing.
When we are good, we can
know the truth.
 Socrates

Enkrateia is the power of the

soul over the body. The
mastery of reason over the
body. This is the aim of the
philosopher.
 Socrates
Because of love for what is True
and Good, Socrates was a
religious man.
But he did not believe in the
Greek gods.
Like Anaxagoras, he believed that
there is a Supreme Intelligence.
Socrates believed that there is a
divine voice (daimonion) that
guides us in all our actions.
 Socrates

Socrates did not believe in the

Greek gods.
But he believed in the existence
of heaven and hell.
This is the logical consequence
of the existence of the True and
the Good.
The Socratic Method
Socrates sought to draw out
what is true and good in the
souls of his disciples through
dialogue.
By asking one question after the
other, he leads his disciples to
the truth and to the good.
He compares this with
midwifery (maieutikos).
The Socratic Method
Maieutikos will only work if the
mind is humble.
Thus, for Socrates, the start of
wisdom is the acceptance of
ones ignorance. All I know is
that I know nothing.
This is his attitude in a dialogue.
The Death of Socrates

Because of his lack of belief in

the Greek gods, Socrates was
accused before the courts of
impiety and leading the youth to
error.
He was sentenced to death by
drinking hemlock (poison).
The Death of Socrates

Platos dialogue entitled Phaedo

is the story of the death of
Socrates.
The Disciples of Socrates

Plato
Xenophon
Esquinus
Antisthenes
Aristippus
Euclid
Phaedo.
Schools founded by disciples of
Socrates

Cynics (Antisthenes)
the Cyrenaic School (Aristippus)
the School of Megara (Euclid)
the School of Elida (Phaedo).
Plato

Life
 Plato

Real name: Aristocles

Plato was his nickname
because he had broad
shoulders.
Born in Athens 427 B.C.
 Plato
Real name: Aristocles
Plato was his nickname
because he had broad
shoulders.
Born in Athens 427 B.C.
Always stayed in Athens,
except when on political journey
and in 399 to be with Socrates
before he died.
 Plato
From a noble family occupying
high political positions.
Plato could have been a
politician or statesman.
He left Athens after the death of
Socrates to avoid persecution.
He went to Megara and lived
with Euclid.
 Plato
From Megara, he later went to
Crete, Egypt and Cyrenaica.
He then returned to Athens in
396.
He made three trips outside
Athens to try his idea about the
Philosopher-king.
 Plato
His second trip was in 388 to
Tarento and Sicily.
 Plato
His second trip was in 388 to
Tarento and Sicily.
In Sicily, he met Dionysius I the
Old, tyrant of Syracuse.
Dionysius I sold Plato as a
slave. Plato was ransomed by
his friend Aniceris.
He returned to Athens and
founded the Academy in 387.
 Plato
His third trip was to Syracuse in
366, a request of Dionysius the
Young. Later, banished.
Returned to Syracuse in 361
with members of the Academy.
Returned to Athens in 360.
He died in 346 B.C.
The Works of Plato

The Dialogues
 Dialogues
The philosophical conversations
Socrates committed to writing,
with poetic license.
Plato added his own ideas.
Socrates is the main character
in most of the Dialogues.
They are stories filled with
philosophy. But they are not
philosophy textbooks in the
strict sense.
 Chronology of the
Dialogues
A thinkers philosophical system
develops as he matures.
If we know the history of his
thought, we cannot make the
mistake of thinking that an idea
from an early work is already
his definitive teaching.
A modern example: Kant
 Chronology of the
Dialogues
The criterion for determining the
chronology of the dialogues of
Plato was language.
As Plato matured, not only his
thought but his linguistic style
also evolved.
Thus, the dialogues with the
same linguistic style are put
together.
 Chronology of the
Dialogues
Other criteria are also used to date the
different dialogues. For example:
1. The historical references found in
the dialogue: a dialogue cannot be
written before the event occurred
(e.g., Meno should have been
written close to the time of the
corruption of Ismenias of Thebes).
2. References to other dialogues:
e.g., reference to the Republic is
found in Timaeus.
 Chronology of the
Dialogues
According to this criterion, Platos
works can be divided into
three groups:

1. Earliest dialogues
2. Dialogues of his mature life
3. Dialogues in old age
Earliest Dialogues
Concerned with Ethics and very
Socratic.
After the death of Socrates and
before 390: Apology,
Charmides, The First Book of
Alcibiades, Hippias Minor and
Protagoras.
After 390 but before the mature
Dialogues: Gorgias, Meno and
Cratylus.
 Dialogues in his
Mature Life
He approaches ethical
problems by using metaphysics.
He discusses the problems
discussed by the pre-Socratic
philosophers.
Philosophy of Nature and the
discovery of the Eternal Ideas.
Dialogues between 387 and
367: The Banquet, Phaedo, The
Republic and Phaedrus.
Dialogues in Old Age
Topics: the Eternal ideas,
Cosmology and Politics.
Between 367 and 348: The
Republic, Laws, Theaetetus,
Philebus, Parmenides, The
Sophist, Timaeus.
Earliest Dialogues
In his earliest dialogues, Plato
was still continuing from what
Socrates left behind.
Most of the dialogues did not
have a definite conclusion and
sounded tentative.
This is characteristic of
Socrates not knowing.
Earliest Dialogues
Towards the end of this early
period, he started developing
his own theories and ideas.
This can be seen in Gorgias,
Meno, Euthydemus, Hippias I,
Hippias II, Cratylus, and the
Menexenus.
 Mature Dialogues
By this time, Plato was already in full
possession of his own ideas.

Symposium About Beauty

Phaedo Ideas & Immortality

Republic Theory of Government

Love & the Tripartite
Phaedrus
Soul
 Old Age
Plato concentrated on the
development of the Theory of
Ideas and his political theory.
 Esoteric Doctrines
Platonic teachings that do not
appear in the Dialogues.
Made known to us through
Aristotle.
Scholars studying Plato have
two theories about this: (1)
religious or literary reasons; (2)
that they were tentative theories
of Plato.
 Plato

Main Teachings
 Main Teachings
1. The Ideas
2. Cosmology: the relationship
between the Ideas and the
sensible world
3. The Human Soul
4. Platonic Ethics
5. Platonic Politics
 The Ideas
What are the Ideas? They are
what are truly real. The
immaterial world is what is real.
The Ideas exist in themselves.
The Ideas are immutable.
Aristotle criticizes the Platonic
dualism between the world of
Ideas and the sensible world.
 The Ideas
There are many Eternal Ideas.
But they are arranged in a
hierarchy.
The Good source of all the
other ideas (The Republic).
The Supreme Genera of Ideas:
Being, Rest and Movement,
Identity and Diversity, Limited
and Unlimited [precursor of the
multiplicity of forms in Aristotle].
Platonic Cosmology
Sensible reality is midway
between being and non-being.
The material things participate
in the reality of the Ideas, but
the Ideas are what are truly
real.
Matter is some type of reality.
The Demiurge forms matter
while looking at the Ideas.
 The Human Soul
True knowledge is permanent
and stable.
Therefore, true knowledge is
the knowledge of the Ideas, not
of the material world.
True knowledge is a
remembering (anamnesis).
Maieutikos through dialectics
helps anamnesis.
 The Human Soul
The soul is immortal because it
knows the Eternal Ideas.
The dialogue Phaedo contains
the proofs of the immortality of
the soul.
Because it is immortal, there
must be life outside the life here
on earth (an ante-life and an
afterlife).
 Plato & Pythagoras
Pythagoras (570-490 BC) was famous:
(1) as an expert on the fate of the soul after
death, who thought that the soul was
immortal and went through a series of
reincarnations;
(2) as an expert on religious ritual;
(3) as a wonder-worker who had a thigh of
gold and who could be two places at the
same time;
(4) as the founder of a strict way of life that
emphasized dietary restrictions, religious
ritual and rigorous self discipline.
 Platonic Ethics
Body and soul are different and
opposed and irreconcilable.
The aim of ethics is to free the
soul from imprisonment in the
body.
How? Asceticism and
Contemplation.
Rejection of unbridled pleasure
and the development of the
intellect.
 Platonic Politics
Platos advocacy.
The perfect state forms perfect
men.
Three types of citizens: the
workers, the guardians and the
politicians.
The king should be a
philosopher-king. Only a
philosopher can rightly lead a
state.
 Platonic Politics

The guardians forego having

their own families and relinquish
private property.
Their property is held in
common.
 The Allegory of the
Cave
Graphic representation of Platos thought
in The Republic
After Plato
Schools after Plato
The Old Academy
Middle Academy
New Academy

The Middle and New

Academies were anti-dogmatic
and gave rise to eclecticism.
Schools after Plato
The Middle Academy was the most
eclectic and it later gave rise to Neo-
Platonism.
Neo-Platonism found its way to the
School of Alexandria in Egypt.
Plotinus (203/4-269/70 AD) studied
at the School of Alexandria. His
writings deeply influenced the
Fathers of the Church.