Why is Plato so popular?

Plato is considered by many to be the most important philosopher who ever lived. He is known as the father of idealism in philosophy. His ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Plato is perhaps best known to college students for his parable of a cave, which appears in Plato’s Republic.

Who was more influential Plato or Socrates?

Each of these Philosophers were equally impressive and unique in their own way. Arguably, without Plato, there’s no Aristotle, and without Socrates, there’s no Plato, so Socrates is the most seminal philosopher by that logic.

How is Plato different from Socrates?

One of the primary differences between Plato and Socrates is that Plato gave a lot of importance to the soul of the human being than the body. On the other hand, Socrates did not speak much about the soul. Socrates always preached to be just than unjust. Plato would call the human function as deliberation.

Was Plato the most famous pupil of Socrates?

His most famous student was Plato (l. c. 428/427-348/347 BCE) who would honor his name through the establishment of a school in Athens (Plato’s Academy) and, more so, through the philosophical dialogues he wrote featuring Socrates as the central character.

What was Plato’s main idea?

Plato believed that reality is divided into two parts: the ideal and the phenomena. The ideal is the perfect reality of existence. The phenomena are the physical world that we experience; it is a flawed echo of the perfect, ideal model that exists outside of space and time. Plato calls the perfect ideal the Forms.

What happened between Plato and Socrates?

As a young man, however, Plato became a student of Socrates and turned his attention to the question of what constitutes a virtuous life. Almost all of Plato’s writings date from after Socrates’s trial and execution. The Apology is presented as the speech given by Socrates in his own defense at his 399 trial.

What did Plato feel for Socrates?

Plato’s great admiration for Socrates was all the more remarkable because it coexisted not only with a recognition of why Socrates was considered dangerous but also with his belief that Socrates was, to some degree, guilty of impiety and of corrupting the young.

What did Plato and Socrates disagree on?

Socrates has his teachings centered primarily around epistemology and ethics while Plato was quite concerned with literature, education, society, love, friendship, rhetoric, arts, etc. Socrates disagreed with the concept of overreaching; he describes it as a foolish way to live.