Plato's Philosophy and Historical Context

Plato: Historical and Sociocultural Context

The Greek victory in the Median Wars (479 BC) made Athens prosperous. Pericles (462 BC) deepened democratic reforms. However, the Peloponnesian War led to Athens' defeat by Sparta and the Thirty Tyrants' dictatorship. Socrates, Plato's teacher, was executed. Athenian democracy declined, and Alexander created an empire.

Greek society was divided between the nobility and the common people. Colonial expansion introduced merchants, challenging traditional values. The victory over the Persians gave commoners prominence in the polis.

This led to a cultural boom with tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; comedies by Aristophanes; histories by Herodotus and Thucydides; sculptures by Phidias and Praxiteles; and the philosophies of Socrates and Plato.

Democratic legislation emphasized language arts. Discussions focused on politics and law. Presocratic speculation became irrelevant; persuasion was key. Sophists provided education in these skills, but Socrates and Plato rejected their practices.

Plato's Philosophical Influences

Plato was influenced by:

• Heraclitus: Continuous change
• Parmenides: Eternity of being
• Anaxagoras: Nous (mind)
• Pythagoreanism and Orphism: Anthropological dualism
• Socrates: Reminiscence, maieutics, moral intellectualism, essence, and the concept of good

Plato divided reality into two worlds: the sensible and the intelligible.

Plato's Legacy

Plato's Academy lasted nine centuries. Aristotle based his essentialism on Platonic thought. Plato influenced Judaism, particularly the duality of body and soul and the idea of absolute good. Thomas Aquinas interpreted reminiscence as divine illumination. Renaissance thinkers revisited Platonic ideas. Descartes' rationalism adopted Plato's dualism radically. Critics like Nietzsche accused Plato of creating an unreal world, while Popper criticized his totalitarianism.