Plato was a Greek philosopher whose works are considered the foundation of Western philosophy.

What was Plato's main philosophy?

Plato's main philosophy was that there was a higher Truth that existed beyond the perceived world, which people needed to grasp in order to live fully as human beings.

What was Plato's most famous theory?

Plato's most famous theory was the Theory of Forms, which claimed the existence of a higher realm that gave meaning and purpose to the perceived world.

What was Plato's central belief?

Plato's central belief was that, if everything could be true based on people's opinions, then nothing could be true because there would only be thoughts on truth, not Truth itself. He rejected the claims of relativism and argued for the existence of absolute truth.

Plato Timeline

Definition

Plato (l. 424/423 to 348/347 BCE) is the pre-eminent Greek philosopher, known for his Dialogues and for founding his Academy in Athens, traditionally considered the first university in the Western world. Plato was a student of Socrates and featured his former teacher in almost all of his dialogues which form the basis of Western philosophy.

More about: Plato

Timeline

c. 424 BCE - c. 347 BCE
Life of the Greek philosopher Plato.
c. 424 BCE - 423 BCE
Plato is born at Athens, Greece.
407 BCE
Plato meets Socrates, abandons aspiration to be playwright.
403 BCE
Plato turns away from politics toward philosophy.
399 BCE
Trial and death of the philosopher Socrates, who taught in the court of the Agora.
398 BCE
Plato flees to Megara with other followers of Socrates.
c. 398 BCE - c. 380 BCE
Plato travels in Egypt, Cyrene, Italy, Syracuse and Sicily.
361 BCE - 360 BCE
Plato's second trip to Syracuse.
360 BCE
Final attempt by Plato to make Syracusan king a philosopher-king.
347 BCE
Plato dies at his Academy.
c. 204 CE - 270 CE
Life of Plotinus.