The Philosophies of Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Philosophies of Plato - Essay Example Plato was believed to have been born approximately 427 B.C., making his ideas, concepts, and theories well over 2,000 years old. Plato lived and died in Greece in approximately 348 B.C. making him about 80 years old. However, with little historical accounts of these dates, they are approximations but it is also believed that he was born unto a very political family that was also wealthy and it was his father who ensured that Plato received the top education by distinguished teachers during this era. It is during those approximate 80 years, mostly in Athens, where he developed many ancient philosophical concepts which contributed to Western philosophy and his teachings were often considered Platonism (Vaughn). With Socrates as Plato’s teacher, as well as another of Socrates’ famous students, Aristotle, they laid the groundwork for developing higher thinking in the foundations of Western science and philosophy in the Western world. Plato even founded an Academy in Athens which was considered to be one of the first of its kind to teach higher learning topics that included numerous topics and it was years later that his nephew (his sister’s son) would be the successor of being the head of the Academy. Some of these topics that were part of Plato’s dialogue, writings, and teachings were based not only on philosophy but also ethics, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and even religion. Many of the themes behind his work included the theory of forms, innate knowledge, the five regimes and Platonic love.