Plato: The Student Becomes the Teacher

Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:

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A singular figure in many regards, the incomparable Plato is often referred to as the founder of the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, and is widely considered the single most influential figure in ancient Greek and Western philosophy. The mythical status of Plato places him on a unique pedestal; discussing only his achievements and influence on humanity could occupy an entire video.

Because Plato’s life dates so far back into our past, little is known about the society in which he lived. Much of what we do know comes from secondary or tertiary sources due to the sheer magnitude of time separating modern man from the ancient Greek world that Plato inhabited. To understand the context surrounding Plato’s life, it is perhaps better to consider the men who influenced him and those whom he influenced, as well as examining the writings of Plato himself.

One of Plato’s famous quotes states, “States are as the men; they grow out of human characters,” which seems particularly applicable when questioning how best to understand the ancient world that allowed Plato the freedom to express his magnificent ideas. By reading between the lines of what Plato and his contemporaries left behind, we can piece together a better understanding of who Plato the man really was and begin to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding this legendary figure.

As mentioned previously, the two and a half millennia separating us from Plato makes understanding his world exceedingly difficult. Little is known about Plato’s early life, as the details have been lost to time, but a few facts remain. We know that Plato was born into an influential aristocratic Greek family, most scholars believe he was born sometime between 429 and 423 BC in Athens, approximately coinciding with the start of the Peloponnesian War.

Almost immediately, the line between fact and fiction blurs. Some scholars maintain that his father, Ariston, was descended from Codrus, the ancient king of Athens, while Plato’s mother boasted a lineage of equal pedigree. Plato’s family connections included members of a powerful oligarchy called the Thirty Tyrants that ruled Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Because of his prestigious family background, it is widely agreed that Plato enjoyed a privileged youth compared to many fellow Athenians, which granted him access to learn from the top educators of ancient Greece.

Plato once wrote that the most important part of education is proper training in the nursery, and his upbringing exemplifies this philosophy. From a very young age, Plato was educated by the best thinkers of his era, setting in motion a lifetime of seeking knowledge and ultimately spreading his education far beyond himself. It is believed that Plato had two brothers and a sister, although some argue that the brothers may in fact be uncles, as Plato’s mention of them in “The Republic” doesn’t specify.

Plato’s father died during his childhood, but the circumstances and year of Ariston’s death are unknown. Plato is not the famous philosopher’s birth name; Aristocles is the name given to him by his parents, but sometime during his schooling, he adopted the moniker “Plato,” a shortened derivative of the Greek word “platon,” meaning broad. While some speculate that his nickname was given in reference to his broad forehead or the breadth of his knowledge, there are several accounts of Plato’s wrestling coach giving him the nickname in reference to his broad chest and shoulders.

Plato excelled in all areas of his schooling, and historical accounts describe him as bright yet modest. Even outside the classroom, Plato was a formidable figure, as he wrestled competitively throughout his youth, with some claiming that he competed at the Isthmian Games, a competition on par with the ancient Olympics.

To understand Plato as a philosopher, we must first understand the other great thinkers who influenced his beliefs. Pythagoras appears to have had significant influence on Plato’s ideas. When we think of Pythagoras, the Pythagorean theorem from Euclidean geometry is what first comes to mind. However, Pythagoras was well-rounded and scholarly in several areas of study beyond mathematics. He was one of the earliest Greek proponents of the concept of metempsychosis, the belief in the transmigration of the soul, particularly its reincarnation after death. Pythagoras also asserted that everything is numbered and that the cosmos can be explained through numerical principles, both of which are discussed at length in the writings of Plato.

Cicero, the famous Roman orator and philosopher, stated that Plato learned all things Pythagorean. Aside from Plato’s shared metaphysical beliefs with Pythagoras, he was also an accomplished mathematics teacher. One of Plato’s mathematics students was Euclid, the father of Euclidean geometry.

Plato was also influenced by Heraclitus and Parmenides, two philosophers who veered away from the Greek tradition of ancient mythology and instead focused on metaphysics, which explores the fundamental truths of reality. Heraclitus believed that all things change continuously, while Parmenides argued in favor of changeless being, asserting that all change is just an illusion. These contrasting concepts of change and permanence clearly influenced Plato’s writings, best showcased in his theory of forms.

The most well-known teacher and influencer of Plato is, of course, Socrates. While scholars debate the precise nature of the relationship between Plato and Socrates, it is clear that a young Plato was a devoted follower of Socrates. An interesting tidbit is that Plato never wrote of himself in any of his writings; instead, he speaks through Socrates in nearly everything he wrote. Since Socrates was famed for his irony and the Socratic method of dialogue, Plato used both to portray Socrates realistically and as an effective means to communicate his subjects.

Plato often portrayed Socrates as ignorant yet inquisitive on particular subjects, juxtaposing this portrayal against a student claiming to be an expert. In doing this, Socrates often asked leading questions or provided counter-arguments against the points made by Plato’s students, allowing them to further explain or rebut Socrates’ proddings.

Some scholars criticize Plato for this portrayal, but since Socrates left no written works behind, it is impossible to say with certainty whether he played the fool or devil’s advocate as a means to test his students’ resolve or if this was simply a writing device used by Plato to convey his message clearly.

While it appears that Plato was most strongly influenced by Socrates, their ideas diverged on certain subjects. Aristotle, Plato’s most famous student, writes of these differences, suggesting that while Socrates’s ideas about forms can be realized through investigating the natural world, Plato’s forms exist in a realm outside the typical breadth of human understanding.

The relationship between Plato and Socrates is crucial to scholars because no writings from Socrates himself have ever been discovered, so our understanding of him comes almost exclusively from Plato’s portrayal. Plato wrote about subjects in many areas but always in the same dialectic style, formatted in a call-and-response manner where a student debates with Socrates in an intellectual dialogue. This method allowed Plato to flesh out his ideas, highlighting counterarguments, rebuttals, and details that might draw an emotional response.

The area Plato devoted the most attention to was metaphysics, which explores the nature of reality. His most famous work is the theory of forms, where he attempts to explain reality through the lens of his perception, using Socrates as his mouthpiece. This lens has since been dubbed Platonism and can be summarized as a denial of the reality of the material world, where the world we perceive is only a surface image or a copy of the true world.

Plato’s explanation of his theory of forms first appears in the “Phaedo,” one of his most notable works. According to this theory, there exist two worlds: the obvious world of concrete objects, such as the ground we can see or other humans, which is constantly changing due to our perception, and a second world that is purely conceptual, containing unchanging abstract objects understood only through speculation or theoretical thought.

Scholars have interpreted Plato’s theory of forms through various analogies and metaphors, and each generation of thinkers has developed fresh interpretations. For example, when someone says the word “blue,” you have a vision in your head of what blue looks like, which may differ from someone else’s vision, yet both understand the reference. This illustrates the complexity of Plato’s theory of forms.

Plato and Socrates both believed in the immortality of the soul and the existence of an afterlife. Socrates believed it is safe to assume there must be a before life as well, as the chances of this current life being the first are nearly non-existent. Plato writes of Socrates often claiming he knows nothing, explaining that wisdom does not come from the world around oneself but rather is the result of divine insight.

Plato is perhaps best known for his allegories, stories meant to teach lessons through metaphor. If you’ve taken a philosophy class, you’re likely familiar with the allegory of the cave, which is frequently associated with the theory of forms. In this tale, prisoners are tied up in a cave and forced to stare at a wall, with a fire casting shadows for them to see. A group of free men displays various objects that cast shadows, but the prisoners cannot see the men themselves. This represents the shared philosophy of Plato and Socrates that the world cannot be accepted for the way it is perceived, and true reason is the only way to understand it.

Another popular allegory is the Ring of Gyges, which allows the wearer to become invisible at will. A series of ethical dilemmas is posed, questioning whether an ordinary just person would still act morally without fear of negative repercussions or gaining a bad reputation.

Plato did not date his writings, making it impossible to know the chronology of his works. We are also unsure if Plato traveled to study and, if so, to which lands. Some scholars infer from his writing that he traveled in Italy and present-day Libya and Egypt, but no empirical evidence supports these claims. Similarly, we can only estimate when Plato founded his school, the Academy, likely around age 40. This school and Plato himself would educate many influential thinkers that succeeded him, such as Euclid and Aristotle.

The Academy is largely credited as the first Western institution of higher learning in the world, setting in motion a tradition of higher education that persists to this day. In ancient times, the average life expectancy was much shorter than today due to the lack of modern medical knowledge and technology. However, a few wealthy individuals were said to have lived much longer due to their increased access to limited healthcare. Plato was one of these individuals, with most accounts recounting him living into his 80s. While the exact age of his death is disputed, we can reasonably say that Plato lived between 81 and 84 years old.

The definitive explanation for how a man with such primitive medical care outlived his contemporaries by decades is lacking, but access to better healthcare and sanitation due to his aristocratic status is likely the culprit.

Three centuries after his life ended, Plato’s legacy is undeniable, directly influencing the generation of ancient Greek thinkers immediately succeeding him. Like Aristotle, Plato’s impact on Western society and subsequent generations is incomparable. His ideas have been studied by scholars and enlightened leaders continuously since his death, and many of the lessons he taught his students in the Academy are still taught in Western institutions of higher learning today.

It may seem hyperbolic to claim that Plato is Western humanity’s single most influential thinker, but from mathematics and metaphysics to religion and ethics, his philosophy has molded the minds of millions for incomprehensible lengths of time and has trickled down into nearly all aspects of Western society.

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