The philosophy of Socrates and Plato forms the cornerstone of Western philosophy. Their ideas have shaped our understanding of knowledge, reality, and ethics.
Socrates (469-399 BC) was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is best known through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon. Socrates did not write philosophical texts, and the knowledge of the man, his life, and his philosophy is based on writings by his students and contemporaries.
The Socratic method, also known as maieutics, method of elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate, is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. It is a dialectical method, involving a discussion in which the defense of one point of view is questioned.
Socratic ignorance refers to Socrates' belief that he knows nothing. However, since he was aware of his own ignorance, he was wiser than those who, though ignorant, still claimed knowledge. While some might view this claim of ignorance as a mere ironic statement, Socrates seems to have genuinely believed that he did not know what he did not know.
Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, especially the Western tradition.
Plato's Theory of Forms asserts that non-material abstract forms, and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. According to Plato, these forms are the only true objects of study for the philosopher.
The Allegory of the Cave is one of the most famous passages in the history of Western philosophy. It is a short excerpt from the beginning of Plato's book, "The Republic". The allegory is a complex metaphor that describes the effects of knowledge on the human spirit. It is used to illustrate Plato's Theory of Forms.
In his dialogue "The Republic", Plato uses Socrates to argue for justice that covers both the just person and the just City State. Justice is a proper, harmonious relationship between the warring parts of the person or city. Hence, Plato's definition of justice is that justice is the having and doing of what is one's own. A just man is a man in just the right place, doing his best and giving the precise equivalent of what he has received. This applies both at the individual level and at the universal level.
The study of Socratic and Platonic philosophy provides a foundation for understanding many of the ideas and principles that underpin Western thought. Their influence continues to be felt in modern philosophy, politics, and ethics.