

HoP 018 - In Dialogue - The Life And Writings Of Plato
47 snips Jan 31, 2011
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Plato: Philosophy's Turning Point
- Philosophy as a discipline came of age with Plato, who shaped many central philosophical issues.
- Alfred North Whitehead famously called the history of philosophy "a series of footnotes to Plato."
Plato's Elusive Authorial Voice
- Plato wrote all his philosophy in dialogues and never appeared as a character himself.
- This obscures which ideas in the dialogues represent his own philosophical views.
Plato's Failed Political Missions
- Plato went on three trips to Syracuse to try to influence the tyrant Dionysius and his son with philosophy.
- Despite his efforts, his idealistic missions to reform tyrants ended in failure and disappointment.