Plato and The Renaissance Essay -- Philosophy

Plato (428-347 B.C.E.) is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers the world has ever known. Though touch with specific problems of his own era, Platos ideas transcend all time. Throughout the ages his works ca-ca been translated into many nomenclatures and studied by great thinkers of e rattling region of the world. A revival of Platonic thought occurred during the rebirth. Though Platos ideas have survived in their authoritative forms, translators and commentators during Renaissance times often understood them in a very different way than intended.Platos ideas were ahead of their time, but he was nevertheless distinctly a product of Classical Greek culture. Many of his dialogues question beliefs of and compliment the Greek gods. Political concerns revolved around political systems common in his day, and the distaste for democracy present in his Republic focuses specifically on the form of democracy present in Athens during that time.1 For his time, Platos wor k depicts women in a very positive light, but it is still evident that the whim of women as second class citizens in ancient Greece influenced his opinion. Platos Republic allows for and expects woman to participate in his ideal ruling class of philosopher kings, but the language used to describe womens roles is nevertheless demeaning.2 In Platos Socratic dialogues, a superfluity of examples representative of the age are used to explain and defend claims, referencing novel wars, politicians in recent history, and Homeric poetry.Plato may have never release the world renowned philosopher that he is considered to be today if it had not been for Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.). Plato was Socrates virtually famous pupil, and Socrates was such an inspiration to him that... ...) 406-439. http//www.jstor.org/stable/10.1353/ren.2008.0331Kellermann, Frederick. Montaigne, Reader of Plato. Comparative Literature, Vol. 8, no. 4 (Autumn, 1956) 307-322. http//www.jstor.org/stable/1768763Le e, Desmond, trans. The Republic, 2nd ed. New York Penguin Books, 1987.Oliver, Revilo P.. Plato and Salutati. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 71, (1940) 315-334. http//www.jstor.org/stable/283132Schachter, Marc. Louis Le Roys Sympose de Platon and Three Other Renaissance Adaptions of Platonic Eros. Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 2 (Summer 2006) 406-439. http//www.jstor.org/stable/10.1353/ren.2008.0331Somfai, Anna. The Eleventh-Century Shift in the Reception of Platos Timaeus and Calcidiuss Commentary. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 65, (2002) 1-21