Plato

-427 – -347

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens widely considered the foundational thinker of the Western philosophical tradition. A student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy in Athens around 387 BC, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, and wrote dialogues including the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, and Timaeus that have shaped every major area of subsequent philosophy. His doctrine of the Forms and his political theory of the philosopher-king continue to be foundational starting points for ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM