Notes

Plato is one of the Greek philosophers that laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Plato is the student of Socrates, the philosopher mentioned by the previous presentors wrote the Socratic Dialogues. The socratic dialogue contain Plato's most important writings on Socrates, including commentaries on the virtues of friendship, courage, and temperance that display the Socratic Method at its highest degree.

Plato also introduced the way of reasoning that comprises two complementary operations, the collection and division. Collection unifies many into one while division divides one into many. In other words, while collection brings together many parts into a whole, division divides a whole into many parts.

Plato is also famous for his Theory of Forms in which he refers as an ultimate way of understanding reality. He argued that what people see and experience in their daily lives is actually just a representation of actual reality, which people cannot access but which influences the world nonetheless. In other words, Plato asserts that the physical world is not really the 'real' world; instead, ultimate reality exists beyond our physical world. To support this theory, plato asserted that there are two realms: the physical realm and the spiritual realm. The physical realm is the material stuff we see and interact with on a daily basis; this physical realm is changing and imperfect, as we know all too well. The spiritual realm, however, exists beyond the physical realm. Plato's Theory of Forms asserts that the physical realm is only a shadow, or image, of the true reality of the Realm of Forms

So what are these Forms, according to Plato? The Forms are abstract, perfect, unchanging concepts or ideals that transcend time and space; they exist in the Realm of Forms. Even though the Forms are abstract, that doesn't mean they are not real. In fact, the Forms are more 'real' than any individual physical objects. So, concepts like Redness, Roundness, Beauty, Justice, or Goodness are Forms (and thus they are commonly capitalized). Individual objects like a red book, a round ball, a beautiful girl, a just action, or a good person reside in the physical realm and are simply different examples of the Forms.

The rational part is responsible for thinking and reasoning, the spirited part for emotions and motivation, and the appetitive part for desires and impulses.

In his later works, such as the Republic, Plato further developed his view of the soul, proposing that it is intimately connected to the structure of reality itself. He posited the existence of an eternal realm of Forms, which are perfect and unchanging entities that exist independently of the material world. The soul, according to Plato, has a natural affinity for these Forms and can attain knowledge of them through philosophical contemplation.

Plato said every human being is endowed with three qualities though in different proportions. He said these qualities are Reason, which resides in a person's head, Spirit which resides in a persons heart and Appetite which resides in a person's stomach. He said these are the three parts of the human soul.