Plato

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher. Born into an aristocratic Athenian family, he studied under Socrates, later founded the Academy, and taught Aristotle. Public sources on the details of his life are limited, and no exact dates of birth and death are recorded. He wrote mainly in dialogue form, letting figures such as Socrates examine questions through conversation—a form that is both dramatic and speculative. His works center on the theory of Forms, justice, the soul, love, and rhetoric. Representative works include the Republic, Phaedrus, Timaeus, the Apology of Socrates, and Phaedo, several of which appear in Greek-Chinese bilingual or complete Chinese translations. His thought established the fundamental questions and modes of discussion in Western philosophy and has had a profound influence on later philosophy, political theory, and education.