Known as the father of Western philosophy, Plato was a brilliant thinker who learned so much from Socrates and subsequently became the teacher of Aristotle.
As a powerful figurehead and thought leader, his work – The Republic – is probably the most famous work in Western philosophy.
He was a man with a vast range of insightful ideas, dealing worth topics as diverse as science & numbers to astronomy & attitudes to human behaviour.
Indeed, unlike nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries, Plato’s entire work is believed to have survived intact for more than 2,400 years. Known as being the founder of the first institute for higher education, nowadays many people still look to his writings and teachings as a way to manage their own lives.
Plato believed in the pure realm of moral values – Truth, Justice, Beauty. In his own life, he very much ‘walked the walk’ and lived his life with real purpose.
He espoused the presence several different brains or psyches in each of us
– calm reflective mind (higher reasoning)
– Emotional Brain (mammalian emotive)
– primitive brain for basic instincts (reptilian)
Plato’s teaching was that you can train your reflective brain to become the master of and in harmony with the others
He describes how the philosopher wakes up & realizes that the world of phenomena is little more than a cave of illusions projected like an animation on the wall of the cave. By stepping out into the light, you can become enlightened to reality.
Lessons from Plato
Everything is Connected
‘The part can never be well unless the whole is well.’
This is my guiding principle for health and vitality. That your physical health, mindset, emotional happiness, relationships, spiritual wellbeing, sense of purpose and the environments you live and work in are all interconnected.
Never Stop Learning
‘Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.’
Education is the passport to real freedom in the world, to make better choices for your life, your community and country. Read often, keep your mind open and never stop
learning.
Be Kind Anyway
Being kind and compassionate to others, even if you don’t agree with their world view, is a great way to build tolerance and mutual understanding.
Think Before You Speak
‘Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.’
You were born with two ears and one mouth for good reason, to spend more time listening than speaking.
Be a Force for good in the world
Participate in the Future of Your Country
‘One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.’
Plato believed that politics was an opportunity for everyone to become involved in building a better society.
Have the Courage to Simply Start
‘We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.’
Meanwhile here are thirty four of my favourite Plato quotes which I hope you find inspiring and impactful in equal measure. from a man who truly was ahead of his time.
‘We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.’
‘All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one workman.’
‘Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.’
‘The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.’
‘The part can never be well unless the whole is well.’
‘An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.’
‘Wealth, and poverty; one is the parent of luxury and indolence, and the other of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent.’
‘For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.’
‘There is no harm in repeating a good thing.’
‘No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.’
‘People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.’
‘Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.’
‘Ideas are the source of all things.’
‘Thinking – the talking of the soul with itself.’
‘One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.’
‘A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.’
‘Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.’
‘Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.’
‘The measure of a man is what he does with power.’
‘The greatest wealth is to live content with little.’
‘This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.’
‘The beginning is the most important part of the work.’
‘There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain.’
‘A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.’
‘If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life.’
‘Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.’
‘Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man.’
‘False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.’
‘A library of wisdom, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it. Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, must become a lover of books.’
‘When two friends, like you and me, are in the mood to chat, we have to go about it in a gentler and more dialectical way. By ‘more dialectical’, I mean not only that we give real responses, but that we base our responses solely on what the interlocutor admits that he himself knows.’
‘The untrained mind keeps up a running commentary, labelling everything, judging everything. Best to ignore that commentary. Don’t argue or resist, just ignore. Deprived of attention and interest, this voice gets quieter and quieter and eventually just shuts up.’
‘Necessity… the mother of invention.’
‘Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.’
‘Life must be lived as play.’
‘The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future.’
