Plato was born to an aristocratic family in Athens. His father, Ariston, was believed to have descended from the early kings of Athens. Perictione, his mother, was distantly related to the 6th- century BC lawmaker Solon. During Plato’s youth his father passed away. Soon thereafter his mother remarried to Pyrilampes, who was an associate of the statesman Pericles. Plato witnessed the death of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 BC. Perhaps fearing for his own safety, he left Athens temporarily and traveled to Italy, Sicily, and Egypt. The most pro

Contradictorily, the philosophical perspectives of Plato’s most prominent student are not founded in a theory of realities, but rather are based on concepts of logic and rhetoric. The main difference in the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle is that Aristotle actually develops and introduces the idea of logic. Plato’s philosophies are rooted in thought adjusting methods of understanding realities of knowledge; whereas, Aristotle’s are based in concrete logical truths. Due to this core difference in their thought, the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle greatly differ. Aristotle presented logic as an instrument to be used in thought. Aristotle used the word logic as the verb of reasoning, it was his main tool for thought. Logic was the key to Aristotle’s scientific investigations into the universe.

Plato's writings were in dialogue form and his philosophical ideas were advanced for his society. His ideas were usually portrayed in the context of a conversation or debate between two or more persons. The earliest collection of Plato's work includes 35 dialogues and 13 letters. The authenticity of a few of the dialogues and most of the letters has been disputed. The dialogues of the middle and later periods of Plato's life reflect his own philosophical development. Although Socrates continues to be the main character in many of the dialogues, many scholars attribute most of the ideas in these works to Plato.

As Plato grew older and began to travel less, more of his time was spent lecturing at the Academy and writing. He died at about the age of 80 in Athens in 348 or 347 BC. Plato's influence throughout the history of philosophy has been monumental. When he died, his colleague Speusippus became head of the Academy. The school continued in existence until AD 529, when the Byzantine emperor Justinian closed it I, who objected to its pagan teachings. The theologians; Clement of Alexandria, and St. Augustine were early Christian exponents of a Platonic perspective in Christianity. Platonic ideas have had a crucial role in the development of Christian theology.

As Plato saw it, hope of survival comes naturally to the philosopher, whose whole life is one of preparation for death. What happens when we die, after all, is that the human soul separates from the human body, and it is concern for the soul rather than the body that characterizes a philosophical life. In fact, Plato argued that since knowledge of the most important matters in life is clearest to the soul alone, its customary attachment to a mortal body often serves only as a distraction from what counts.

In his text discussions, Plato depicts being in a cave. He describes being bound so that vision is restricted, he and his companion cannot see one another. The only thing visible is the wall of the cave upon which appear shadows. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Plato distinguishes between two levels of awareness: opinion and knowledge. Some opinions are well founded; some are not; but

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