Plato was a Greek philosopher and student of Socrates who founded the Academy in Athens. He greatly influenced Western philosophy through his dialogues which explored concepts like justice, courage, and virtue. Plato left no written works himself and is known through his students' writings, especially those of his most famous pupil, Socrates.

1. Ancient
Greek
Criticism

3. (469-399BC)

5. ‡ Born in Athens, the son of
Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and
Phaenarete, a midwife.
‡ Greek philosopher who
profoundly affected Western
philosophy through his
influence on Plato.

6. ‡ Achieved social popularity
because of his ready wit and a
keen sense of humor that was
completely devoid of satire.
‡ Belief in a purely objective
understanding of such concepts
as justice, love, and virtue, and
the self-knowledge that he
inculcated, were the basis of his
teachings.

7. ‡ Greatest philosophical personality
in history
‡ Left no written work and is known
through the writings of his
students, especially those of his
most famous pupil, Plato.

8. ‡ Refused to accept payment for
his teachings, maintaining that he
had no positive knowledge to
offer except the awareness of the
need for more knowledge
‡ He was condemned to death
and took his own life.

9. (427-ca.-347BC)

11. ‡ Student of Socrates and founder
of the Academy in Athens
‡ A Greek Philosopher and was
one of the brilliant figures in the
history of Western Philosophy
‡ He was born in Athens from an
aristocratic family.

12. ‡ He was the son of Ariston and
Perictione.
‡ His father died when he was
still young and her mother married
Pyrilampes.
‡ At the age of 20, he fell under
the spell of the controversial
thinker and teacher Socrates.

13. ‡ He admired his teacher Socrates.
‡ When Socrates died (399 B.C.),
he left Athens and traveled to
Italy, Sicily and Egypt.
‡ He returned to Athens and
founded the Academy.

14. ACADEMY- often described as the
first European University
‡ He learned the dialectical method
of pursuing truth by a systematic
questioning of received ideas and
opinions from Socrates.

15. Plato’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.

16. ‡ His collections include 35
dialogues and 13 letters.
‡ These dialogues are devoted to
exploring and defining concepts
such as virtue, temperance,
courage, piety, and justice.

17. The dialogues may be
divided into early,
middle, and later
periods of composition.

18. EARLY DIALOGUES
• Charmides (an attempt to define
temperance)
• Lysis (a discussion of friendship)
• Laches (a pursuit of the meaning of
courage)
• Protagoras (a defense of the thesis
that virtue is knowledge and can be
taught)

19. • Euthyphro (a consideration of the
nature of piety)
• Crito (Socrates’ defense of obedience
to the laws of the state)
• Apology (Socrates’ defense of
himself at his trial against the
charges of atheism and corrupting
Athenian youth)

20. MIDDLE DIALOGUES
• Phaedo (the death scene of
Socrates, in which he discusses
the theory of Forms, the nature of
the soul, and the question of
immortality)

21. • Republic (Plato’s supreme
philosophical achievement, which
is a detailed discussion of the
nature of justice)
• Symposium (Plato’s outstanding
dramatic achievement, which
contains several speeches on
beauty and love)

22. LATE DIALOGUES
• Theaetetus (a denial that
knowledge is to be identified with
sense perception; concerned with
knowledge)
• Parmenides (a critical evaluation
of the theory of Forms)

23. • Sophist (further consideration
of the theory of Ideas, or
Forms; offers a different view
of reality)
• Philebus (a discussion of the
relationship between pleasure
and the good)

24. • Timaeus (Plato’s views on
natural science and
cosmology)
• Laws (a more practical
analysis of political and social
issues).