What Was Plato Impact On Society?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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His writings

explored justice, beauty and equality

, and also contained discussions in aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, epistemology and the philosophy of language. Plato founded the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world.

How was Plato influential?

Plato is considered by many to be the most important philosopher who ever lived. He is known as

the father of idealism in philosophy

. His ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Plato is perhaps best known to college students for his parable of a cave, which appears in Plato’s Republic.

What is the Plato effect?

Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism

at least affirms the existence of abstract objects

, which are asserted to exist in a third realm distinct from both the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness, and is the opposite of nominalism.

Why is Plato important today?

Plato devoted his life to one goal:

helping people reach a state of fulfillment

. To this day, his ideas remain deeply relevant, provocative, and fascinating. Philosophy, to Plato, was a tool to help us change the world.

What is Plato’s contribution?

Plato is also considered the founder of Western political philosophy. His most famous contribution is

the theory of Forms known by pure reason

, in which Plato presents a solution to the problem of universals known as Platonism (also ambiguously called either Platonic realism or Platonic idealism).

How did Plato change the world?

His writings explored justice, beauty and equality, and also contained discussions in aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, epistemology and the philosophy of language. Plato founded the

Academy

in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world.

What was Plato’s beliefs?

Plato believed that it

is only philosophers who should rule over the lands

. Plato believed that only people who have been proven time and time again to make judgments that are in the best interests of society without clouding their judgment with personal interests should be fit to rule.

What is the good life according to Plato?

According to Plato, a ‘good-life’ is

one that ensures the well being of a person (Eudaimonia)

. The well being can be ensured by a good state of the soul. A good state of the soul is either a product of good soul and doing what is good for the soul.

What did Plato say about politics?

He claims that democracy is a danger due to excessive freedom. He also argues that in a system in which everyone has a right to rule all sorts of selfish people who care nothing for the people but are only motivated by their own personal desires are able to attain power.

What did Plato say about music?

Plato said that “

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

”.

How does Socrates affect us today?

Arguably the most influential thinker ever, Socrates was

dedicated to reasoning

. … Over the centuries and even today a lot of decisions are made under emotional judgement rather than reasoning. We today can see the divisions in society and a lot of it can attributed to the breakdown in seeking the truth through logic.

How does Aristotle affect us today?

In spite of the growing acceptance of new ideas in the later centuries, Aristotelian thought is still relevant in our current society. Aristotle has

created a basis for a great deal of today’s scientific knowledge

, such as the classification of organisms and objects.

Why is Plato’s philosophy important?

The Athenian philosopher Plato (c. 428-347 B.C.) is one of the most important figures of the Ancient Greek world and the entire history of Western thought. … In the “Republic,” his most famous work,

he envisioned a civilization governed not by lowly appetites but by the pure wisdom of a philosopher-king

.

What was Plato’s greatest achievement?

  • #1 He is credited with establishing the first university in Europe.
  • #2 He gave us an insight into the philosophical teachings of Socrates.
  • #3 He wrote numerous philosophical discussions which continue to be debated.
  • #4 He came up with the influential Theory of Forms.

What is the main idea of Aristotle?

Aristotle’s philosophy stresses biology, instead of mathematics like Plato. He

believed the world was made up of individuals (substances) occurring in fixed natural kinds (species)

. Each individual has built-in patterns of development, which help it grow toward becoming a fully developed individual of its kind.

What is the contribution of Plato in ethics?

Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato

maintains a virtue-based eudaemonistic conception of ethics

. That is to say, happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the virtues (aretê: ‘excellence’) are the requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.