PlatoDan SimakSean ValentineElaine CotterRachael JensenHaliegh Danek1.Who is Plato?TeacherTeacherSocratesPlatoAristotle2.Platos BiographyBorn around the year 428 B.C. in AthensHis father died when he was youngPlatos birth name was Aristocles (not to be confused with Aristotle) and he gained the nickname “Platon” because of his broad buildWhen he was young, his basis of study was music and poetryPlato was in the military service from 409 B.C. to 404 B.C. and then joined a group called the Thirty Tyrants, but ended up leaving it because of the violence3.Socrates was Platos disciple and Plato started to adopt his philosophy & style of debate.After Socrates death in 399 B.C., Plato left Athens with some friends and traveled for the next 12 years while studying geometry, geology, astronomy, and religion.Platos studies were directed toward the question of virtue & the formation of noble character4.Plato Back In ATHENSWhen Plato returned to Athens in 387 B.C., he started a school of learning called the Academy, which was eventually described as the 1st European UniversityAt the Academy, he taught his subjects astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy.5.Platos WorksHe had 36 dialogues (books) and 13 letters- “The Republic”Give readers a sense of philosophy as a living and unfinished subject, to which they will need to contribute to finishModern scholars doubt the authenticityAfter writing, his works were “lost” until the RenaissanceThey have been steadily studied sinceBig influence in math and scienceDifference between arithmetic and logistic6.“He believed that ideas were far more real than the natural world. He advised that astronomers not waste their time observing the stars and planets. It was better he believed, just to think about them”- Carl Sagan7.Allegory of the CavePeople lived life chained facing a blank wall of a cave.They could only see the moving shadows projected by the people and fire behind them.The people began to think this of was reality.However philosophers are people from the cave that understands that the shadows are being cast by other people in true form. Fascinated with the idea of “Perfect Form”8.What If Plato Were to Run For Presidency?9.Plato & PoliticsThe RepublicVirtues of JusticeCourageWisdom and Moderation (Individual and Society)3 Part SocietyWorkers (producing)The “appetite” of the soulWarriors (protecting)The “spirit” of the soulRulers (governing) The “reason” of the soul10.Plato & Politics Cont.Courage is not merely military courage but primarily civic courage: the ability to preserve the right, law-inspired belief, and stand in defense of such values as friendship and freedom on which a good society is founded.11.Plato & Politics Cont.Platos Government Would Have: Multiparty SystemPeriodic ElectionsProfessional Civil Service (Union)Plato believed that that there could be a body of knowledge whose attainment would make it possible to completely heal political problems.12.The End of PlatoPlato died in 347 B.C., leaving the Academy.The Academy remained a model for institutions of higher learning until Emperor Justinian closed it 13.Plato and His Marvelous Beard14.