Thursday, July 14, 2016

How did Plato's ideas influence or reflect the values and beliefs of his society? What are some famous quotes of Plato's? How are they still...

Plato was a famous philosopher who probably lived from around 470-399 BCE in Athens, Greece. While his ideas have influenced the history of western thought to such an extent that a 20th century philosopher once remarked that all philosophy consisted of "footnotes to Plato," the contemporary relevance of his ideas is not obvious. 


To answer the first part of your question, Plato's writings reveal a critique of his society and do not, as such, mirror the values of his time. In his Republic, he imagines an ideal state ruled by a few highly trained and wise philosopher-kings. There is a strict hierarchy in Plato's ideal city — the philosopher-kings, the warriors, and then the craftsmen. Athens, where democracy was born, was nothing like Plato's ideal and he even offers pointed criticisms of democracy in the Republic and elsewhere. He supposedly went to Sicily to implement a version of his ideal city but, from what we know, he failed. He did have an immense influence philosophically, though, and insofar as philosophy eventually has an influence on values and beliefs, he can be said to have had an influence of values and beliefs even today.


There are many famous quotes from Plato's works, and I would encourage you to read these in their entirety. I will leave you with one quote, though, which was supposedly uttered by his teacher Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living." (Plato, Apology). I can only hope that this quote is of the utmost relevance today and for all time to come. 

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