Plato lived and taught in Athens in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C.
Plato lived and taught in Athens in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. Taught by Socrates, Plato in turn was the teacher of Aristotle. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential philosophers in the Western tradition. It is nearly impossible to summarize Plato’s influence on the development of Western thought and civilization. One of his most important contributions (among many) was the notion of dualism—that is that the body and the soul are distinct, one mortal and corrupt, the other immortal and perfectible. Plato used illustrations called “allegories” in his teaching. One of the most famous is the allegory of the cave, which he used to illustrate how relying only on our senses to perceive reality allows us to be deceived. He imagined a cave where prisoners were kept chained from birth, facing a wall. The prisoners in the cave could not move their heads and all they were ever able to see was the wall before them. In the distance behind them was a fire, and wh...