Paul Shorey Bücher

Plato of Athens, who laid the foundations of the Western philosophical tradition and ranks among its greatest practitioners, was born to a prosperous and politically active family around 427 BCE. An admirer of Socrates in his early life, Plato later founded the first institution of higher learning in the West, the Academy, whose notable alumni included Aristotle. Traditionally ascribed to Plato are thirty-six dialogues that develop Socrates' dialectic method and are composed with great stylistic virtuosity, along with thirteen letters. "Republic," a masterpiece of philosophical and political thought, concerns righteousness in individuals and communities and proposes an ideal state organized and governed on philosophical principles.