Biography

Plato is one of the most brilliant and far-reaching writers to have ever lived. Our very conception of philosophy—of rigorous thinking concerning the true situation of man, the nature of the whole, and the perplexity of being—owes a great debt to his work. No area of inquiry seems foreign to him: his writings investigate ethics, politics, mathematics, metaphysics, logic, aesthetics, and epistemology in tremendous depth and breadth. In the words of Alfred North Whitehead, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”

There are few contemporary sources for the life of Plato. According to Diogenes Laertius, who lived many centuries later than the philosophers about whom he was writing, Plato was born to Ariston, an Athenian aristocrat who traced his lineage to Codrus, the king of Athens, and to Melanthus, the king of Messina. The family of his mother, Perictione, boasted a relationship with the great Athenian legislator Solon. Diogenes Laertius also reports that the philosopher’s name was Aristocles, for his grandfather, but that his wrestling coach dubbed him “Platon,” meaning “broad,” either on account of his robust physique, or the width of his forehead, or eloquence of his speech. And yet modern scholars are in doubt, since the name “Plato” was not uncommon in the Athens of Plato’s day.

Well before his encounter with Socrates, Plato was known to accompany philosophers such as Cratylus, a disciple of Heraclitus. Later in life, after the death of Socrates, Plato traveled around Egypt, Italy, Sicily, and Cyrene, Libya. Upon his return to Athens at around 40 years of age, Plato founded the first known institution of higher learning in the West, the Academy, named for its location in the Grove of Academus. The Academy was open until its destruction by Sulla in 84 BCE. It counts among its illustrious alumni many fine minds, but none more renowned than Aristotle.

After founding the Academy, Plato became involved in the politics of Syracuse. According to Diogenes, Plato visited Syracuse while it was under the rule of Dionysius. While there, Dionysius’ brother-in-law, Dion, became Plato’s disciple. Dion, however, later turned against Plato, selling him into slavery. During this time, Plato nearly faced death in Cyrene. Fortunately, chancing upon an admirer who purchased his freedom, Plato was spared and found his way home.

Upon the death of Dionysius, according to Plato’s account in his Seventh Letter, Dion requested that Plato return to Syracuse to tutor young Dionysius II. In another reversal of fortune, Dionysius II expelled his uncle Dion, and compelled Plato to remain. Plato would eventually leave Syracuse, while Dion later returned to Syracuse and overthrew Dionysius II, only to be usurped by Callipus, another disciple of Plato.

Ancient sources offer differing accounts of Plato’s death. According to one source, Plato died peacefully in his bed listening to the sweet sounds of a Thracian flute girl. Another source reports that he died while attending a friend’s wedding feast. Still another account simply says he died in his sleep.

Plato Contribution to Sociology

First of his writing was an apology which he wrote after the death of Socrates.
Crito: it is said to be a dialogue by an ancient philosopher Plato. Crito contains a conversation between Socrates and his rich friend Crito regarding justice and injustice.
Phaedo one of the work done by Plato. It contains the description of Socrates last few days in the cell alone. It was a mixture of drama and philosophy linked with the immortality of the human soul.
Platonic love: We also became familiar with the Platonic love: Spiritual and emotional companionship or relationship between two people of the opposite sex that doesn’t require sexual desire. This type of relationship is rare in today’s world. He believed that this type of relationship help us reach our highest potential. Plato also disliked the physical expression of love.
The Book: Republic If you haven’t got the chance to grab a copy of Republic written more than 2,400 years ago then this article will help you a lot. The author is none other than Plato himself. The book contains how to deal with the nature and conditions of a just republic and with the misuse of justice by man and society. It largely talks about the division of labor.

In his book, Republic II Plato uses macro approach to analyze justice. He has talked about social organizations because he believes here he see a larger image of the problem that is justice which also exists at a micro-level as well. This is why he used mental experiments, with the emergence of the political city. Firstly, he talked about simple cities then magnificent cities.

Plato began with an identified satisfaction of human need as the fundamental cause of the association. He said that people live together and provide each other with support associate as everyone believes it to be in one’s self-interest. To organize productive efforts of these associated Plato explained three main reasons for the division of labor.

he believed that every individual has different natural productive differences and therefore one might be good in one occupation and others might be good in something else. For example, one might be a good tailor and others might be better as a chef.
Specialization in the different field improves one’s workmanship.
Many things need to be done at the same time which requires the availability of some people fixed for some tasks.

In simple words according to Plato division of labour increases the physical productivity of people and facilitate their efforts and get to full potential.

He says us not to engage in the materialistic conception of the significance of these associations. He goes on explaining that division of labor is not only about consumers good but also about producers goods. From the production of tools used by consumers is also related to producers goods. Hence, as the labor of division increases so does the number of citizens also increases.

Born: c. 427 B.C.E.
Athens, Greece
Died: c. 347 B.C.E.
Athens, Greece
Greek philosopher

The Greek philosopher Plato founded the Academy in Athens, one of the great philosophical schools of antiquity

Plato.
Courtesy of the

Library of Congress

(ancient times). His thought had enormous impact on the development of Western (having to do with American and European thought) philosophy.

Early life

Plato was born in Athens, Greece, the son of Ariston and Perictione, both of Athenian noble backgrounds. He lived his whole life in Athens, although he traveled to Sicily and southern Italy on several occasions. One story says he traveled to Egypt. Little is known of his early years, but he was given the finest education Athens had to offer noble families, and he devoted his considerable talents to politics and the writing of tragedy (works that end with death and sadness) and other forms of poetry. His acquaintance with Socrates (c. 469–c. 399 B.C.E. ) altered the course of his life. The power that Socrates's methods and arguments had over the minds of the youth of Athens gripped Plato as firmly as it did many others, and he became a close associate of Socrates.

The end of the Peloponnesian War (431–04 B.C.E. ), which caused the destruction of Athens by the Spartans, left Plato in a terrible position. His uncle, Critias (c. 480–403 B.C.E. ), was the leader of the Thirty Tyrants (a group of ruthless Athenian rulers) who were installed in power by the victorious Spartans. One means of holding onto power was to connect as many Athenians as possible with terrible acts committed during the war. Thus Socrates, as we learn in Plato's Apology, was ordered to arrest a man and bring him to Athens from Salamis for execution (to be put to death). When the great teacher refused, his life was threatened, and he was probably saved only by the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants and the reestablishment of the democracy (a system of government in which government officials are elected by the people).

Death of Socrates

Plato welcomed the restoration of the democracy, but his mistrust was deepened some four years later when Socrates was tried on false charges and sentenced to death. Plato was present at the trial, as we learn in the Apology, but was not present when the hemlock (poison) was given to his master, although he describes the scene in clear and touching detail in the Phaedo. He then turned in disgust from Athenian politics and never took an active part in government, although through friends he did try to influence the course of political life in the Sicilian city of Syracuse.

Plato and several of his friends withdrew from Athens for a short time after Socrates's death and remained with Euclides (c. 450–373 B.C.E. ) in Megara. His productive years were highlighted by three voyages to Sicily, and his writings, all of which have survived.

The first trip, to southern Italy and Syracuse, took place in 388 and 387 B.C.E. , when Plato met Dionysius I (c. 430–367 B.C.E. ). Dionysius was then at the height of his power in Sicily for having freed the Greeks there from the threat of Carthaginian rule. Plato became better friends with the philosopher Dion (c. 408–353 B.C.E. ), however, and Dionysius grew jealous and began to treat Plato harshly.

His dialogues

When Plato returned to Athens, he began to teach in the Gymnasium Academe and soon afterward acquired property nearby and founded his famous Academy, which survived until the early sixth century C.E. At the center of the Academy stood a shrine to the Muses (gods of the arts), and at least one modern scholar suggests that the Academy may have been a type of religious brotherhood.

Plato had begun to write the dialogues (writings in the form of conversation), which came to be the basis of his philosophical (having to do with the search for knowledge and truth) teachings, some years before the founding of the Academy. To this early period Plato wrote the Laches which deals with courage, Charmides with common sense, Euthyphro with piety (religious dedication), Lysis with friendship, Protagoras with the teaching of virtues, or goodness, and many others. The Apology and Crito stand somewhat apart from the other works of this group in that they deal with historical events, Socrates's trial and the period between his conviction and execution.

Plato's own great contributions begin to appear in the second group of writings, which date from the period between his first and second voyages to Sicily. The Meno carries on the question of the teachability of virtue first dealt with in Protagoras and introduces the teaching of anamnesis (recollection), which plays an important role in Plato's view of the human's ability to learn the truth.

The Republic

Socrates is again the main character in the Republic, although this work is less a dialogue than a long discussion by Socrates of justice and what it means to the individual and the city-state (independent states). Just as there are three elements to the soul, the rational, the less rational, and the impulsive irrational, so there are three classes in the state, the rulers, the guardians, and the workers. The rulers are not a family of rulers but are made up of those who have emerged from the population as a whole as the most gifted intellectually. The guardians serve society by keeping order and by handling the practical matters of government, including fighting wars, while the workers perform the labor necessary to keep the whole running smoothly. Thus the most rational elements of the city-state guide it and see that all in it are given an education equal to their abilities.

Only when the three work in harmony, with intelligence clearly in control, does the individual or state achieve the happiness and fulfillment of which it is capable. The Republic ends with the great myth of Er, in which the wanderings of the soul through births and rebirths are retold. One may be freed from the cycle after a time through lives of greater and greater spiritual and intellectual purity.

Last years

Plato's third and final voyage to Syracuse was made some time before 357 B.C.E. , and he tried for the second time to influence the young Dionysius II. Plato was unsuccessful and was held in semicaptivity before being released. Plato's Seventh Letter, the only one in the collection of thirteen considered accurate, perhaps even from the hand of Plato himself, recounts his role in the events surrounding the death of Dion, who in 357 B.C.E. entered Syracuse and overthrew Dionysius. It is of more interest, however, for Plato's statement that the deepest truths may not be communicated.

Plato died in 347 B.C.E. the founder of an important philosophical school, which existed for almost one thousand years, and the most brilliant of Socrates's many pupils and followers. His system attracted many followers in the centuries after his death and resurfaced as Neoplatonism, the great rival of early Christianity.

For More Information

Kahn, Charles H. Plato and the Socratic Dialogue: The Philosophical Use of a Literary Form. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Shorey, Paul. What Plato Said. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933.

Inspirational Plato quotes that will help you reach your highest potential.

Plato was a pivotal figure in the history of Ancient Greek and Western philosophy. He is considered to be one of the most brilliant and far-reaching writers to have ever lived.

Plato founded the Academy and authored philosophical works that have been widely read over the years.

His writings covered a wide range of interests and ideas, including justice, theology, beauty and equality, and political philosophy.

Plato’s impact on philosophy and human nature has had a lasting impact. He will always be remembered as the pivotal influence that shaped the Western Philosophical tradition and thought.

In his honor, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and powerful Plato quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Plato Quotes on Democracy, The Republic and Life

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.–Plato
“The first andgreatest victoryis to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.”
― Plato
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.–Plato

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.–Plato
Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.–Plato
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.–Plato
“Do you desire to be wholly one; always day and night in one another’s company? For if this is what you desire, I am ready to melt and fuse you together, so that being two you shall become one, and while you live a common life as if you were a single man, and after your death in the world below still be one departed soul, instead of two….”
― Plato
A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.–Plato
You candiscover more about a personin an hour of play than in a year of conversation. – Plato

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.–Plato
If you’re enjoying these quotes, read our collection of Greek Philosopher quotes on ancient knowledge to motivate you.

Plato Quotes on knowledge and learning

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.–Plato
We are twice armed if we fight with faith.–Plato
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle–Plato

Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.–Plato
Only the dead have seen the end of war.–Plato
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.–Plato
Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.–Plato
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.–Plato
There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.–Plato
The beginning is the most important part of the work.–Plato

Also check out our list of quotes about stoicism that will strengthen your perspective on life.

Profound Plato quotes that will change the way you think

Love is a serious mental disease.–Plato
“if you are willing to reflect on the courage and moderation of other people, you will find them strange…they all consider death a great evil…and the brave among them face death, when they do, for fear of greater evils…therefore, it is fear and terror that make all men brave, except for philosophers. yet it is illogical to be brave through fear and cowardice…what of the moderate among them? is their experience not similar?…they master certain pleasures because they are mastered by others…i fear this is not the right exchange to attain virtue, to exchange pleasures for pleasures, pains for pains, and fears for fears, the greater for the less like coins, but that they only valid currency for which all these things should be exchanged is wisdom.”
― Plato
Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.–Plato
Death is not the worst that can happen to men.–Plato

Desires are only the lack of something: and those who have the greatest desires are in a worse condition than those who have none, or very slight ones.–Plato
If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.–Plato
Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil.–Plato
Laws are partly formed for the sake of good men, in order to instruct them how they may live on friendly terms with one another, and partly for the sake of those who refuse to be instructed, whose spirit cannot be subdued, or softened, or hindered from plunging into evil.–Plato
Man…is a tame or civilized animal; never the less, he requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill- educated he is the most savage of earthly creatures.–Plato

No human thing is of serious importance.–Plato

Powerful Plato quotes for your philosophy life

There is no such thing as a lover’s oath.–Plato
“Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye”
― Plato
Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself.–Plato

No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or afterdeath.– Plato
Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind.–Plato
Sons, the event proves that your fathers were brave men; for we might have lived dishonourably, but have preferred to die honourably rather than bring you and your children into disgrace, and rather than dishonour our own fathers and forefathers;–Plato
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of Father-Son quotes about the power of their bond.
And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.–Plato

“You know that the beginning is the most important part of any work, especially in the case of a young and tender thing; for that is the time at which the character is being formed and the desired impression is more readily taken….Shall we just carelessly allow children to hear any casual tales which may be devised by casual persons, and to receive into their minds ideas for the most part the very opposite of those which we should wish them to have when they are grown up?

We cannot….Anything received into the mind at that age is likely to become indelible and unalterable; and therefore it is most important that the tales which the young first hear should be models of virtuous thoughts….”
― Plato

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.–Plato
The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life–Plato

Don’t forget to also read these powerful Machiavelli quotes.

Plato Quotes to inspire and teach

The more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation.–Plato

“But that we shall be better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that there was no knowing and no use in seeking to know what we do not know;—that is a theme upon which I am ready to fight, in word and deed, to the utmost of my power.”
― Plato
Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike.–Plato
Many men are loved by their enemies, and hated by their friends, and are the friends of their enemies, and the enemies of their friends.–Plato

If a man can be properly said to love something, it must be clear that he feels affection for it as a whole, and does not love part of it to the exclusion of the rest.–Plato
Was not this … what we spoke of as the great advantage of wisdom — to know what is known and what is unknown to us?–Plato
He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it–Plato

People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.–Plato
No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.–Plato
There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot–Plato

Plato Quotes to make you wise

He whom love touches not walks in darkness–Plato
Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.–Plato

Life must be lived as play.–Plato
“It’s not at all uncommon to find a person’s desires compelling him to go against his reason, and to see him cursing himself and venting his passion on the source of the compulsion within him. It’s as if there were two warring factions, with passion fighting on the side of reason. But I’m sure you won’t claim that you had ever, in yourself or in anyone else, met a case of passion siding with his desires against the rational mind, when the rational mind prohibits resistance.”
― Plato
If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life–Plato
This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are–Plato

Know thyself–Plato
“That’s what education should be,” I said, “the art of orientation. Educators should devise the simplest and most effective methods of turning minds around. It shouldn’t be the art of implanting sight in the organ, but should proceed on the understanding that the organ already has the capacity, but is improperly aligned and isn’t facing the right way.”
― Plato
“…when he looks at Beauty in the only way that Beauty can be seen – only then will it become possible for him to give birth not to images of virtue (because he’s in touch with no images), but to true virtue [arete] (because he is in touch with true Beauty). The love of the gods belongs to anyone who has given to true virtue and nourished it, and if any human being could become immortal, it would be he.”
― Plato
“Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good.”
― Plato

Plato quotes to broaden your mind

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”― Plato
“Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.”― Plato
“He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age. But to him who is of an opposite disposition, youth and age are equally a burden.”― Plato
“Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.”― Plato
“Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.”― Plato
“Attention to health is life’s greatest hindrance.”― Plato
“It is impossible to improve the world if first the man does not improve.”
― Plato
“The greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases is that there are physicians for the body and physicians for the soul, although the two cannot be separated.”― Plato
“Virtue is the desire of things honourable and the power of attaining them.”― Plato
“… because it is correct to make a priority of young people, taking care that they turn out as well as possible…”― Plato

Plato quotes to inspire and motivate you

“It is only just that anything that grows up on its own should feel it has nothing to repay for an upbringing which it owes no one.”― Plato
“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”― Plato
“Love is a great spirit. Everything spiritual is in between god and mortal.”― Plato
“There is in every one of us, even those who seem to be most moderate, a type of desire that is terrible, wild, and lawless.”― Plato
“Excellence is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice. We do not act ‘rightly’ because we are ‘excellent’, in fact we achieve ‘excellence’ by acting ‘rightly.’”― Plato
“The worst type of man behaves as badly in his waking life as some men do in their dreams.”―Plato
“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”― Plato
“Self conquest is the greatest of victories.”―Plato
“And will life be worth having, if that higher part of man be destroyed, which is improved by justice and depraved by injustice?”― Plato
“The man who has no self-respect, on the contrary, will imitate anybody and anything; sounds of nature and cries of animals alike; his whole performance will be imitation of gesture and voice.”― Plato

Powerful Plato quotes and sayings

“It is our duty to select the best and most dependable theory that human intelligence can supply, and use it as a raft to ride the seas of life.”― Plato
“The only thing he ought to consider, if he does anything, is whether he does right or wrong, whether it is what a good man does or a bad man.”― Plato
“Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”― Plato
“Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods.”― Plato
“No thing more excellent nor more valuable than wine was ever granted mankind by God.”― Plato
“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.”― Plato
“To the degree that I cease to pursue my deepest passions, I will gradually be controlled by my deepest fears.”― Plato
“The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself.”― Plato
“Time is the moving image of eternity.”― Plato
“You take the words in the sense which is most damaging to the argument.”― Plato

You might also like these philosophical Epicurus quotes for a happy life.

“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.” –Plato
“The measure of a man is what he does with power.” –Plato
“The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful.” –Plato
“Nothing beautiful without struggle.” –Plato
“Any man may easily do harm, but not every man can do good to another.” –Plato
“Excess of liberty, whether it lies in state or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery.” –Plato
“Those who don’t know must learn from those who do.” –Plato
“He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think, but the will to act.” –Plato
“Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent.” –Plato

Which of these Plato quotes was your favorite?

Plato was a key figure in Western philosophy. His works had a major influence on the conception of philosophy, and have been widely read over the years.

Besides, Plato will always be remembered as the founder of the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world.

We hope these Plato quotes will inspire you to reach your highest potential.

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