PhilosophersPlaton

Platon

Beyond appearances, the eternal Forms.

Platonismv. 428 – 348 av. J.-C. GreeceIdealistRationalistDualistPolitical thinker
In short

Platon (v. 428 – 348 av. J.-C., Athens) : platonism. The world we see is only a shadow: beyond it exist eternal Forms (Beauty, Justice, the Good) that reason alone can reach. Philosophy means leaving the cave of appearances. On AskPhilosophy: 10 reconstructed arguments, 3 quotes checked word for word against the original texts, and 2 common beliefs examined; every text carries an authenticity badge (written by the author, posthumous, student notes, reported, apocryphal).

In 30 secondsThe world we see is only a shadow: beyond it exist eternal Forms (Beauty, Justice, the Good) that reason alone can reach. Philosophy means leaving the cave of appearances. The immortal soul recollects these Forms, and the just city should be ruled by those who know them.
Why he matters

"The European philosophical tradition consists of a series of footnotes to Plato", Whitehead would write. He founded the Academy, the first school of philosophy, and invented the philosophical dialogue as a genre.

His times

A student of Socrates, he saw his teacher condemned to death by Athenian democracy in 399 BC. That shock shaped his thinking on justice and power. Socrates wrote nothing: we know him mostly through Plato.

His positions

click a row to see the evidence
Does God exist?God
AtheismTheism
Majority interpretation

A believer in his own way: the divine is good, and at the summit of all stands the Form of the Good. Not the personal God of monotheistic religions.

Where does knowledge come from?Source of knowledge
Empiricism (from experience)Rationalism (from reason)
Stated explicitly

A rationalist: learning is recollecting what the soul contemplated before birth. The senses give only opinions.

Can we reach certain truths?Certainty
SkepticismCertainty attainable
Majority interpretation

True knowledge is possible, but at the cost of a long conversion: leaving the cave. Socrates, for his part, insists on what he does not know.

Is the mind more than matter?Mind and body
MaterialismDualism
Stated explicitly

The soul is distinct from the body and immortal: the Phaedo offers several proofs.

Are we truly free?Freedom
Determinism (no free will)Free will
Debated among scholars

No one does wrong willingly: we do wrong out of ignorance of the good. Real freedom comes through knowledge.

Do good and evil exist objectively?Status of morality
Anti-realism (morality is human-made)Moral realism (objective moral truths)
Stated explicitly

The good and the just exist in themselves: even the gods love the pious because it is pious, not the other way round.

Can reason judge everything, faith included?Faith and reason
Primacy of faith / the heartReason alone judges
Majority interpretation

Reason judges even religious stories: the Euthyphro dilemma subjects the gods' approval to a rational standard.

Does life have a given meaning?Meaning of life
No given meaning (absurd, to be created)Objective meaning (nature, God, the Good)
Stated explicitly

The meaning of life is to seek truth and the good: the unexamined life is not worth living.

Are humans naturally good?Human nature
Fundamentally weak or corruptFundamentally good or perfectible
Majority interpretation

We are chained by ignorance like the prisoners in the cave, but capable of being freed by education.

Who comes first: the individual or the community?Individual and society
Community, order, traditionIndividual liberty
Stated explicitly

The city will only be well governed if philosophers become kings, or kings philosophers. Wary of democracy.

What makes an action good?Basis of morality
Duty (deontology)Consequences (consequentialism)Character (virtue ethics)Other (divine law, relationships, value creation…)
Majority interpretation

An ethics of virtue and harmony of the soul: justice is each part of the soul doing its job under the guidance of reason.