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Many Platonic notions secured a permanent place in Christianity. [9] At the heart of Plato's philosophy is the theory of the soul. Francis Cornford described the twin pillars of Platonism as being the theory of the Forms, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. [10]
Plato (/ ˈ p l eɪ t oʊ / PLAY-toe; [1] Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn; born c. 428–423 BC, died 348 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms.
In philosophy and specifically metaphysics, the theory of Forms, theory of Ideas, [1] [2] [3] Platonic idealism, or Platonic realism is a theory widely credited to the Classical Greek philosopher Plato. The theory suggests that the physical world is not as real or true as "Forms".
Platonic-Peripatetic ethics were upheld by Plutarch against the opposing theories of the Stoics and Epicureans. [5] Among later middle Platonists there were Theon of Smyrna, who wrote a mathematical introduction to Plato, and Gaius (2nd century) who was a teacher of Platonist philosophy. [6]
Platonists are followers of Platonism, the philosophy of Plato.Platonism can be said to have begun when Plato founded his academy c. 385 BC. Ancient Platonism went on to last until the end of the last remaining pagan school of Platonism in Alexandria which was brought on by the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641, over a thousand years after the opening of the first Platonic school.
Plato then goes on to explain how the philosopher is akin to a prisoner who is freed from the cave. The prisoner is initially blinded by the light, but when he adjusts to the brightness he sees the fire and the statues and how they caused the images witnessed inside the cave.
In philosophy, Plato's epistemology is a theory of knowledge developed by the Greek philosopher Plato and his followers. Platonic epistemology holds that knowledge of Platonic Ideas is innate, so that learning is the development of ideas buried deep in the soul, often under the midwife-like guidance of an interrogator.
The core of Plato's philosophy is the Theory of Forms (or Ideas), and many writers have seen in this metaphysical theory a justification for the use of literary allegory. Fletcher, for example, wrote: The Platonic theory of ideas has two aspects which lead to allegorical interpretations of both signs and things ...