Seth Millsap 1

Plato, and C D. C. Reeve. Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co, 2004. Print.
In the most famous triplet of ancient Greek philosophers, Plato is the intermediate, his teacher
Socrates and his student Aristotle. Truthfully, little is known about Platos early life; it is,
however, held on some certainty that Plato came from a very wealthy and influential Athenian
family. His birth is estimated between 429 and 423 B.C.E. to father Ariston and mother
Perictione, although his father soon passed away. Perictione married her maternal uncle, who
became the stepfather of Plato and his siblings. The Republic places both Socrates, as Platos
teacher, and Platos family in a position of considerable prominence. For example, Platos
brothers Adeimantus and Glaucon play active roles in the book.
Platos humility as a writer is so powerful that it becomes a source of legitimacy in his
teachings; his dialogues never contain his own words. This humility of opinion makes him an
interesting figure as a teacher. He established the eponymous Academy some small distance from
Athens, from which important students were educated, including Aristotle. Plato did not meet an
end as famed or dramatic as his teacher Socrates, but, instead, is said to have died in his bed
while listening to the music of a flute, or to have simply passed in his sleep.
Plato is the originator of much of the abstract approach that would define Western
philosophy in centuries to come. He can appear condescending at times, such as in reference to
many pragmatists and people who avoid deeper contemplation as eu amousoi, or comfortably
without muses, similar to blissful ignorance. To Plato, it is this profundity of thought that he
views as deriving all meaning to life. Neo-Platonism is still held by certain individuals, by which
modern thinkers view the world in a dichotomy of the physical and the actual, or ideal. A famous
example of this thinking is that of a horse that has been run over by a truck beyond recognition.
It still holds the same meaning as a horse, and we still regard it as a horse, but physically, and
somewhat sadly, it is no longer a horse.
In relation to Platos status as a famous teacher, the Republic comments, The object of

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education is to teach us to love what is beautiful. He places very little emphasis on the
pragmatic requirements of life, instead viewing aesthetic fulfillment as the total necessity to live
a good life. This somewhat resembles classical cynicism. Unlike modern cynicism, wherein
individuals provide criticism not by assessment or evaluation, but by expectation, classical
cynicism saw practitioners abandon money and shelter in favor of begging on the street, in
rejecting the system that they likely had come to reject. A modern equivalent might be becoming
a monk or nun after living as a businessman and coming to hate the system.
Other Quotes: There is in every one of us, even those who seem to be most moderate, a type
of desire that is terrible, wild, and lawless. Surprisingly Freudian.
Nothing beautiful without struggle.
Analysis: Plato has a pleasingly similar analytical process to my own, which I appreciated; he
has no qualms to making very outward and sharp observations, since he never purported to know
anything. He does not stop to interpolate his text with I think or I feel. Instead, he seeks to
build as much as possible, to provide something to be later broken down and provide materials
for building. Republic gave input to my inquiry in the way that it, too, relied on a deeper
fulfillment and maturity to first provide virtue and constancy in the individual. An individual
blind to beauty can only hold beauty by coincidence, to Plato.