Plato is one of history’s most influential thinkers, the “sublime philosopher” whose writings remain foundational to Western culture. He is known for the brilliant dialogues in which he depicted his ...

Plato, often hailed as the greatest philosopher who ever lived, has not, until now, been given a full-length biography. The problem is a lack of primary sources, says Robin Waterfield, a scholar and ...

In my roughly 10 years of philosophical education — four in college, one in a master’s program and five as a PhD candidate — it never occurred to me that Plato was a person. Of course, I read and ...

This story is a collaboration with Biography.com. An ancient, charred scroll that once lied beneath the ashes of Mount Vesuvius has unveiled the true resting place of Plato—and a bizarre detail about ...

Socrates’ method was to clear his students’ minds of abstractions and assumptions, so that they might attain self-knowledge and learn the practical wisdom of living well. His pupil Plato, however, ...