Editing Plato (section)

{{Short description|Greek philosopher (c. 427 – 348 BC)}}
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{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
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{{Infobox philosopher
| name             = Plato
| era              = [[Ancient Greek philosophy]]
| image            = Plato Silanion Musei Capitolini MC1377.jpg
| caption          = Roman copy of a portrait [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] {{circa|370&nbsp;BC}}
| birth_date       = 428/427 or 424/423 BC
| birth_place      = [[Classical Athens|Athens]]
| death_date       = 348/347 BC
| death_place      = Athens
| school_tradition = 
| notable_students = [[Aristotle]]
| main_interests   =
[[Platonic epistemology|Epistemology]], [[Metaphysics]]<br/>
[[Plato's political philosophy|Political philosophy]]
| notable_works    =
{{Flatlist}}
* ''[[Euthyphro]]''
* ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology]]''
* ''[[Crito]]''
* ''[[Phaedo]]''
* ''[[Meno]]''
* ''[[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]]''
* ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]''
* ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]''
* ''[[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]''
* ''[[Parmenides (dialogue)|Parmenides]]''
* ''[[Theaetetus (dialogue)|Theaetetus]]''
* ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]''
* ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]''
* ''[[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]]''
{{Endflatlist}}
| notable_ideas   =
{{Flatlist}}
*[[Allegory of the cave]]
*[[Cardinal virtues]]
*[[Form of the Good]]
*[[Theory of forms]]
*[[Plato's theory of soul|Divisions of the soul]]
*[[Platonic love]]
*[[Platonic solids]]
{{Endflatlist}}
}}
'''Plato''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|l|eɪ|t|oʊ}} {{respell|PLAY|toe}}; [[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Πλάτων}}, {{tlit|grc|Plátōn}}; born {{Circa|428–423}}&nbsp;BC, died 348/347&nbsp;BC) was an [[ancient Greek philosopher]] of the [[Classical Greece|Classical period]] who is considered a foundational thinker in [[Western philosophy]] and an innovator of the written [[dialogue]] and [[dialectic]] forms. He influenced all the major areas of [[theoretical philosophy]] and [[practical philosophy]], and was the founder of the [[Platonic Academy]], a philosophical school in [[History of Athens|Athens]] where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as [[Platonism]]. 
 
Plato's most famous contribution is the [[theory of forms|theory of forms (or ideas)]], which aims to solve what is now known as the [[problem of universals]]. He was influenced by the [[pre-Socratic]] thinkers [[Pythagoras]], [[Heraclitus]], and [[Parmenides]], although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.

Along with his teacher [[Socrates]], and his student [[Aristotle]], Plato is a central figure in the history of [[Western philosophy]]. Plato's complete works are believed to have survived for over 2,400 years{{Emdash}}unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries.{{sfn|Cooper|1997|loc=introduction}} Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages.{{sfn|Cooper|1997|p=vii}} Through [[Neoplatonism]], he also influenced both [[Christian philosophy|Christian]] and [[Islamic philosophy]]. In modern times, [[Alfred North Whitehead]] said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of [[Note (typography)|footnotes]] to Plato."{{sfn|Whitehead|1978|p=39}}