Along with his teacherSocrates, and his studentAristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history ofWestern philosophy. Plato's complete works are believed to have survived for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries.[1] Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages.[2] ThroughNeoplatonism, he also influenced bothChristian andIslamic philosophy. In modern times,Alfred North Whitehead said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series offootnotes to Plato."[3]
Life
Plato was born between 428 and 423 BC[4][5] into anaristocratic and influentialAthenian family;[6] through his mother,Perictione, he was a descendant ofSolon, a statesman credited with laying the foundations ofAthenian democracy.[7] There is an apocryphal story that Plato is a nickname, and that his birth name wasAristocles (Ἀριστοκλῆς), meaning 'best reputation', but this is widely regarded as false by modern scholarship.[8][9][10][5] Plato had two brothers,Glaucon andAdeimantus, both of whom appear in theRepublic, and also a sister,Potone, and a half brother, Antiphon.[5]
During Plato's childhood, Athens was involved in thePeloponessian War against Sparta. His older brothers,Adeimantus andGlaucon, distinguished themselves at the battle of Megara in 409 BC.[11] Despite the war, Plato and his brothers, like all male citizens of Athens, received a traditional education ingymnastics andmusic.[12] According to the ancient writers, there was a tradition that Plato's favorite employment in his youthful years waspoetry: he wrote poems,dithyrambs at first, and afterwardslyric poems and tragedies (atetralogy), but abandoned his early passion and burnt his poems when he met Socrates and turned to philosophy.[13] There are also some epigrams attributed to Plato, but these are now thought by some scholars to be spurious.[14]
Socrates
Plato was one of the devoted young followers of Socrates, whose bust is pictured above.
In his youth, Plato first encounteredSocrates, who would become his teacher and greatest source of inspiration, initially in the company of other Athenian boys in thePalaestra, such as is depicted withLysis andMenexenus, who discuss philosophy with Socrates in theLysis,[15] but he soon would become a member of Socrates' inner circle, meeting with Socrates and his other followers. Socrates, along with thesophists of his day, challenged the prevailing focus ofEarly Greek philosophy on Natural philosophy, and investigated questions of ethics and politics, examining the ideas of his interlocutors with a series of questioning called theSocratic method.[16]
Socrates' immense influence on Plato is clearly borne out in Plato's dialogues: Plato never speaks in his own voice inhis dialogues; every dialogue except theLaws features Socrates, although many dialogues, including theTimaeus andStatesman, feature him speaking only rarely.Leo Strauss notes that Socrates' reputation forirony casts doubt on whether Plato's Socrates is expressing sincere beliefs.[17]Xenophon'sMemorabilia andAristophanes'sThe Clouds seem to present a somewhat different portrait of Socrates from the one Plato paints. Aristotle attributes a different doctrine with respect to Forms to Plato and Socrates.[18] Aristotle suggests that Socrates' idea of forms can be discovered through investigation of the natural world, unlike Plato's Forms that exist beyond and outside the ordinary range of human understanding.[19] TheSocratic problem concerns how to reconcile these various accounts. The precise relationship between Plato and Socrates remains an area of contention among scholars.[20][page needed]
According to theSeventh Letter, whose authenticity has been disputed, as Plato came of age, he imagined for himself a life in public affairs.[21] In 404, Sparta defeated Athens at the conclusion of the Peloponessian war, leading to the election of theThirty Tyrants, which included two of Plato's relatives, Critias and Charmides.[22] Plato himself was invited to join the administration, but declined, and quickly became disillusioned by the atrocities committed by the Thirty, especially when they tried to implicate Socrates in their seizure of the democratic generalLeon of Salamis forsummary execution.[23]
In 403 BC, the democracy was restored after the regrouping of the democrats in exile, who entered the city through thePiraeus and met the forces of the Thirty at theBattle of Munychia, where both Critias and Charmides were killed. In 401 BC the restored democrats raidedEleusis and killed the remaining oligarchic supporters, suspecting them of hiring mercenaries.[24]
As depicted in the many dialogues that are set between 401 and 399 BC, life largely returned to normal in Athens. However,the prosecution of Socrates by Anytus put an end to Plato's plans for a political career.[25]
Later philosophical development
After the death of Socrates, Plato remained in Athens for roughly three years.[26]
Heraclitus (1628) byHendrick ter Brugghen. Heraclitus saw a world influx, with everything always in conflict, constantly changing.
Bust of Parmenides fromVelia. Parmenides saw the world aseternal and unchanging, that all change was an illusion.
In Athens, Plato studied withCratylus, a philosopher who followed the early Greek philosopherHeraclitus, and alsoHermogenes, anEleatic philosopher in the tradition ofParmenides.[27] Heraclitus viewed all things ascontinuously changing, that one cannot "step into the same river twice" due to the ever-changing waters flowing through it, and all things exist as a contraposition of opposites, while Parmenides adopted an altogether contrary vision, arguing for the idea of a changeless, eternal universe and the view that change is an illusion. Heraclitus's views are expounded by Cratylus himself in Plato's dialogueCratylus and deconstructed in theTheaetetus by Socrates. Plato would go on to depict both Parmenides and Parmenides' studentZeno in theParmenides, and an "Eleatic Stranger" also appears in theSophist andStatesman.
In roughly 396 BC, Plato left Athens and studied inMegara withEuclid of Megara, founder of the Megarian school of philosophy, and other Socratics.[28]
Mathematics
Around 394 BC or earlier, he returned to Athens, where, as an Athenian male of military age he would have needed to be available to serve in theCorinthian war, which Athens participated in from 395 to 386 BC.[29] Other than potential military service, Plato spent his time studying mathematics withArchytas of Tarentum, Theaetetus,Leodamas of Thasos, andNeocleides in the grove ofHecademus,[30] named after anAttic hero inGreek mythology, northwest of the city ofAthens, where he would later found his Academy.[5] During this time, Plato likely began work on some of his earliest works; including theApology, possibly early drafts of theGorgias andRepublic Book I, and an early form of theRepublic books II-IV, in the form of a speech rather than a dialogue, which was ridiculed by Aristophanes in theEcclesiazusae in 391 BC.[31]Speusippus, the son of Plato's sister Potone, who took over the academy after Plato's death, joined the group in about 390 BC, andEudoxus of Cnidus, another early mathematician, arrived around 385 BC.[30]
The mathematical and mystical teachings of the followers of Pythagoras, pictured above, exerted a strong influence on Plato.
After the conclusion of theCorinthian War, Plato travelled to southern Italy to study withArchytas and other Pythagoreans.[32] The influence of these Pythagoreans appears to have been significant. According toR. M. Hare, this influence consists of three points:
The platonic Republic might be related to the idea of "a tightly organized community of like-minded thinkers", like the one established by Pythagoras in Croton.
The idea that mathematics and, generally speaking, abstract thinking is a secure basis for philosophical thinking as well as "for substantial theses inscience andmorals".
They shared a "mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world".[33]
Pythagoras held that all things are number, and the cosmos comes from numerical principles. He introduced the concept of form as distinct from matter, and that the physical world is an imitation of an eternal mathematical world.[34]
Later years: Syracuse and the Academy
First trip to Syracuse
When Plato was about 40 years old, he visited Syracuse. Many Ancient sources, including the collection ofLetters attributed to Plato, tell how he became entangled with the politics of the city ofSyracuse. Plato initially visited Syracuse while it was under the rule ofDionysius, in roughly 385 BC.[35] During this first trip Dionysius's brother-in-law,Dion of Syracuse, became one of Plato's disciples, but the tyrant himself turned against Plato.[5]
After his return from Syracuse, Plato founded his philosophical school, the Academy, near the sacred olive grove ofHecademus, in roughly 383 BC.[27] At first, the property consisted of only a house with a garden, and during his lifetime, the work of the Academy itself likely took part an open area for study of philosophy and mathematics.[27] From 383 BC until about 366 BC, Plato primarily spent his time at the Academy, writing the majority of the dialogues during this time.[36] Much like Socrates and his students had been parodied inAristophanes' playsThe Clouds andThe Birds, the students at the Academy seem to have been the target of their contemporaries inMiddle Comedy.[27] A fragment from a lost play ofEpicrates depicts two students of the Academy engaged in a fierce debate over thegenus of apumpkin, in a parody of the Platonic conception ofdiairesis.[27]Aristotle of Stagira, who would go on to become a philosopher as famous as Plato in his own right,[37] arrived in 367 BC, shortly before Plato departed again for Syracuse.[38]
Second and third trips to Syracuse
After Dionysius I's death in 367 BC, Plato returned to Syracuse, likely early in 366 BC, at the request of Dion, in order to tutorDionysius II and guide him to become aphilosopher king. Dionysius II seemed to accept Plato's teachings, but he became suspicious of Dion, his uncle. Dionysius expelled Dion, and Plato, after trying repeatedly to reconcile the two, gave up and returned to Athens.[27]
Plato returned to Syracuse a third time in 361 BC, likely staying over the winter until 360 BC.[27] Dionysius kept Plato against his will, forcing Plato to appeal to his friendArchytas to intercede, at which point he returned to Athens.[27] Dion would return to overthrow Dionysius and ruled Syracuse for a short time in 357 BC up until 354 BC,[27] when he was usurped byCalippus, an Athenian who Plato insists, in the Seventh Letter, had no connection with the Academy.[39]
Final years and death
After 360 BC, Plato returned to Athens, where he spent the remainder of his life.[5]
At this point, he wrote or revised some of his final works, possibly including theTimaeus,Critias,Sophist,Statesman,Philebus, and his longest work, theLaws, all of which exhibit similarity of language, philosophical themes, and style that indicate they were intentionally published together to present a unified viewpoint.[40] At the time of his death, however, theLaws was still unfinished; this work was edited by a student at the Academy,Philip of Opus, who is also generally believed to have written theEpinomis, an appendix to theLaws.[41]
In 348/347 BC, Plato died and was buried in his garden in theAcademy in Athens.[42] At the time of his death, Plato seems to have been self-sufficient, but not wealthy.[43] A will preserved by one of the ancient biographers of Plato, which discusses his estate, does not mention the Academy, which suggests that he left a separate provision for it or possibly established an endowment.[44] He was succeeded as the head of the Academy bySpeusippus, his nephew.[41]
In Plato's dialogues, Socrates and his company of disputants had something to say on many subjects, including several aspects ofmetaphysics. These include religion and science, human nature, love, and sexuality. More than one dialogue contrasts perception andreality,nature and custom, and body and soul.Francis Cornford identified the "twin pillars of Platonism" as the theory of Forms, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the doctrine of immortality of the soul.[45]
In the dialogues Socrates regularly asks for the meaning of a general term (e. g. justice, truth, beauty), and criticizes those who instead give him particular examples, rather than the quality shared by all examples. "Platonism" and its theory of Forms (also known as 'theory of Ideas') denies the reality of the material world, considering it only an image or copy of the real world. According to this theory of Forms, there are these two kinds of things: the apparent world of material objects grasped by the senses, which constantly changes,[46] and an unchanging and unseen world of Forms, grasped by reason. Plato's Forms representtypes of things, as well asproperties, patterns, andrelations, which are referred to as objects. Just as individual tables, chairs, and cars refer to objects in this world, 'tableness', 'chairness', and 'carness', as well as e.g.justice,truth, andbeauty refer to objects in another world. One of Plato's most cited examples for the Forms were the truths ofgeometry, such as thePythagorean theorem. The theory of Forms is first introduced in thePhaedo dialogue (also known asOn the Soul), wherein Socrates disputes thepluralism ofAnaxagoras, then the most popular response to Heraclitus and Parmenides.
For Plato, as was characteristic of ancient Greek philosophy, the soul was that which gave life. Plato advocates a belief in the immortality of the soul, and several dialogues end with long speeches imagining theafterlife. In theTimaeus, Socrates locates the parts of the soul within the human body: Reason is located in the head, spirit in the top third of thetorso, and the appetite in the middle third of the torso, down to thenavel.[47]
Furthermore, Plato evinces a belief in the theory ofreincarnation in multiple dialogues (such as thePhaedo andTimaeus). Scholars debate whether he intends the theory to be literally true, however.[48] He uses this idea of reincarnation to introduce the concept that knowledge is a matter ofrecollection of things acquainted with before one is born, and not of observation or study.[49] Keeping with the theme of admitting his own ignorance, Socrates regularly complains of his forgetfulness. In theMeno, Socrates uses a geometrical example to expound Plato's view that knowledge in this latter sense is acquired by recollection. Socrates elicits a fact concerning a geometrical construction from a slave boy, who could not have otherwise known the fact (due to the slave boy's lack of education). The knowledge must be of, Socrates concludes, an eternal, non-perceptible Form.
Plato also discusses several aspects ofepistemology. In several dialogues, Socrates inverts the common man's intuition about what is knowable and what is real. Reality is unavailable to those who use their senses. Socrates says that he who sees with his eyes is blind. While most people take the objects of their senses to be real if anything is, Socrates is contemptuous of people who think that something has to be graspable in the hands to be real. In other words, such people are willingly ignorant, living without divine inspiration and access to higher insights about reality. Although Plato has occasionally been presented as having been the first to write thatknowledge isjustified true belief in theTheaetetus,[50] Plato also identified problems with this samejustified true belief definition in that same work, concluding that justification (or an "account") would require knowledge ofdifference, meaning that thedefinition of knowledge iscircular.[51]
In theSophist,Statesman,Republic,Timaeus, and theParmenides, Plato associates knowledge with the apprehension of unchanging Forms and their relationships to one another (which he calls "expertise" in dialectic), including through the processes ofcollection anddivision.[52] More explicitly, Plato himself argues in theTimaeus that knowledge is always proportionate to the realm from which it is gained. In other words, if one derives one's account of something experientially, because the world of sense is in flux, the views therein attained will be mere opinions. Meanwhile, opinions are characterized by a lack of necessity and stability. On the other hand, if one derives one's account of something by way of the non-sensible Forms, because these Forms are unchanging, so too is the account derived from them. That apprehension of Forms is required for knowledge may be taken to cohere with Plato's theory in theTheaetetus andMeno.[53] Indeed, the apprehension of Forms may be at the base of the account required for justification, in that it offersfoundational knowledge which itself needs no account, thereby avoiding aninfinite regression.[54]
"What is justice?" forms one of the core quandaries of theRepublic.
Several dialogues discussethics including virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, crime and punishment, and justice and medicine. Socrates presents the famousEuthyphro dilemma in thedialogue of the same name: "Is thepious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by thegods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" (10a) In theProtagoras dialogue it is argued through Socrates that virtue is innate and cannot be learned, that no one does bad on purpose, and to know what is good results in doing what is good; that knowledge is virtue. In theRepublic, Plato poses the question, "What is justice?" and by examining both individual justice and the justice that informs societies, Plato is able not only to inform metaphysics, but also ethics and politics with the question: "What is the basis of moral and social obligation?" Plato's well-known answer rests upon the fundamental responsibility to seek wisdom, wisdom which leads to an understanding of the Form of the Good. Plato views "The Good" as the supreme Form, somehow existing even "beyond being". In this manner, justice is obtained when knowledge of how to fulfill one's moral and political function in society is put into practice.
The dialogues also discuss politics. Some of Plato's most famous doctrines are contained in theRepublic as well as in theLaws and theStatesman. Because these opinions are not spoken directly by Plato and vary between dialogues, they cannot be straightforwardly assumed as representing Plato's own views.
Socrates asserts that societies have a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite/spirit/reason structure of the individual soul. The appetite/spirit/reason are analogous to the castes of society.[55]
Productive (Workers) – the labourers, carpenters, plumbers, masons, merchants, farmers, ranchers, etc. These correspond to the "appetite" part of the soul.
Protective (Warriors or Guardians) – those who are adventurous, strong and brave; in the armed forces. These correspond to the "spirit" part of the soul.
Governing (Rulers or Philosopher Kings) – those who are intelligent, rational, self-controlled, in love with wisdom, well suited to make decisions for the community. These correspond to the "reason" part of the soul and are very few.
According to Socrates, a state made up of different kinds of souls will, overall, decline from an aristocracy (rule by the best) to atimocracy (rule by the honourable), then to an oligarchy (rule by the few), then to ademocracy (rule by the people), and finally totyranny (rule by one person, rule by a tyrant).[56]
Rhetoric and poetry
Several dialogues tackle questions about art, including rhetoric and rhapsody. Socrates says that poetry is inspired by themuses, and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms ofdivine madness (drunkenness, eroticism, and dreaming) in thePhaedrus,[57] and yet in theRepublic wants to outlaw Homer's great poetry, and laughter as well. Scholars often view Plato's philosophy as at odds with rhetoric due to his criticisms of rhetoric in theGorgias and his ambivalence toward rhetoric expressed in thePhaedrus. But other contemporary researchers contest the idea that Plato despised rhetoric and instead view his dialogues as a dramatization of complex rhetorical principles.[58] Plato made abundant use of mythological narratives in his own work; it is generally agreed that the main purpose for Plato in using myths was didactic.[59] He considered that only a few people were capable or interested in following a reasoned philosophical discourse, but men in general are attracted by stories and tales. Consequently, then, he used the myth to convey the conclusions of the philosophical reasoning.[60] Notable examples include the story ofAtlantis, theMyth of Er, and theAllegory of the Cave.
Plato's unwritten doctrines are,[61] according to some ancient sources, the most fundamental metaphysical teaching of Plato, which he disclosed only orally, and some say only to his most trusted fellows, and which he may have kept secret from the public, although some scholars doubt these claims.[62] It is, however, said that Plato once disclosed this knowledge to the public in his lectureOn the Good (Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ), in which the Good (τὸ ἀγαθόν) is identified with the One (the Unity,τὸ ἕν), the fundamental ontological principle. The most important aspect of this interpretation of Plato's metaphysics is the continuity between his teaching and the Neoplatonic interpretation ofPlotinus. All the sources related to theἄγραφα δόγματα have been collected by Konrad Gaiser and published asTestimonia Platonica.[63]
Plato never presents himself as a participant in any of the dialogues, and with the exception of theApology, there is no suggestion that he heard any of the dialogues firsthand. Some dialogues have no narrator but have a pure "dramatic" form, some dialogues are narrated by Socrates himself, who speaks in the first person. TheSymposium is narrated by Apollodorus, a Socratic disciple, apparently to Glaucon. Apollodorus assures his listener that he is recounting the story, which took place when he himself was an infant, not from his own memory, but as remembered by Aristodemus, who told him the story years ago. In most of the dialogues, the primary speaker is Socrates, who employs amethod of questioning which proceeds by a dialogue form.
Textual sources and history
Volume 3, pp. 32–33, of the 1578 Stephanus edition of Plato, showing a passage ofTimaeus with the Latin translation and notes ofJean de Serres
During the early Renaissance, the Greek language and, along with it, Plato's texts were reintroduced to Western Europe by Byzantine scholars. Some 250 known Byzantine manuscripts of Plato survive.[64] In September or October 1484Filippo Valori andFrancesco Berlinghieri printed 1025 copies ofFicino's translation.[65] The 1578 edition of Plato's complete works published by Henricus Stephanus (Henri Estienne) inGeneva also included parallel Latin translation and running commentary by Joannes Serranus (Jean de Serres). It was this edition which established standardStephanus pagination, still in use today. The text of Plato as received today apparently represents the complete written philosophical work of Plato, based on the first century AD arrangement ofThrasyllus of Mendes.[66] Since the beginning of the 20th century, many papyri from theHellenistic period through the third century AD containing text from Plato's dialogues have also been recovered from Egypt, which provide important early witnesses to the text.[64] The modern standard complete English edition is the 1997HackettPlato: Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper.[67][68]
No one knows the exact order Plato's dialogues were written in, nor the extent to which some might have been later revised and rewritten. The works are usually grouped intoEarly,Middle, andLate period; The following represents one relatively common division amongst developmentalist scholars.[70]
Whereas those classified as "early dialogues" often conclude inaporia, the so-called "middle dialogues" provide more clearly stated positive teachings that are often ascribed to Plato such as the theory of Forms. The remaining dialogues are classified as "late" and are generally agreed to be difficult and challenging pieces of philosophy.[71] It should, however, be kept in mind that many of the positions in the ordering are still highly disputed, and also that the very notion that Plato's dialogues can or should be "ordered" is by no means universally accepted.[67] In the most recent Plato scholarship, writers are increasingly skeptical of the notion that the order of Plato's writings can be established with any precision,[72] though Plato's works are still often characterized as falling at least roughly into three groups stylistically.
Legacy
Medieval era
During the Islamic Golden ages, Neoplatonism was revived from its founding father, Plotinus.[73] Neoplatonism, a philosophical current that permeated Islamic scholarship, accentuated one facet of the Qur’anic conception of God—the transcendent—while seemingly neglecting another—the creative. This philosophical tradition, introduced byAl-Farabi and subsequently elaborated upon by figures such asAvicenna, postulated that all phenomena emanated from the divine source.[74] It functioned as a conduit, bridging the transcendental nature of the divine with the tangible reality of creation. In the Islamic context, Neoplatonism facilitated the integration of Platonic philosophy with mystical Islamic thought, fostering a synthesis of ancient philosophical wisdom and religious insight.[74] Inspired by Plato's Republic, Al-Farabi extended his inquiry beyond mere political theory, proposing an ideal city governed byphilosopher-kings.[75] Plato is also referenced by Jewish philosopher and Talmudic scholarMaimonides in hisGuide for the Perplexed.
Many of these commentaries on Plato were translated from Arabic into Latin, in which form they influenced medieval scholastics.[76][77] Plato's thought is often compared with that of his most famous student,Aristotle, whose reputation during the WesternMiddle Ages so completely eclipsed that of Plato that theScholastic philosophers referred to Aristotle as "the Philosopher". The only Platonic work known to western scholarship wasTimaeus, until translations into Latin were made beginning in the 12th century. However, the study of Plato continued in theByzantine Empire,the Caliphates during the Islamic Golden Age, andSpain during the Golden age of Jewish culture.
During theRenaissance,Gemistos Plethon brought Plato's original writings to Florence from Constantinople in the century of itsfall. Many of the greatest early modern scientists and artists who broke withScholasticism, with the support of the Plato-inspiredLorenzo (grandson of Cosimo), saw Plato's philosophy as the basis for progress in the arts and sciences. The 17th centuryCambridge Platonists sought to reconcile Plato's more problematic beliefs, such asmetempsychosis andpolyamory, with Christianity.[78] By the 19th century, Plato's reputation was restored, and at least on par with Aristotle's. Plato's influence has been especially strong in mathematics and the sciences. Plato's resurgence further inspired some of the greatest advances in logic since Aristotle, primarily throughGottlob Frege.Albert Einstein suggested that the scientist who takes philosophy seriously would have to avoid systematization and take on many different roles, and possibly appear as a Platonist or Pythagorean, in that such a one would have "the viewpoint of logical simplicity as an indispensable and effective tool of his research."[79] British philosopherAlfred North Whitehead said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series offootnotes to Plato."[3][80] Adapting examples from Plato'sTheaetetus,Edmund Gettier famously demonstrated theGettier problem for the "justified true belief account" of knowledge, challenging the prevalent notion in Analytic philosophy at the time that had been popularized byA. J. Ayer.[81]
^R.M. Hare, Plato in C.C.W. Taylor, R.M. Hare and Jonathan Barnes, Greek Philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 (1982), 103–189, here 117–119.
^Hans Joachim Krämer and John R. Catan,Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics: A Work on the Theory of the Principles and Unwritten Doctrines of Plato with a Collection of the Fundamental Documents (SUNY Press, 1990).
^Willinsky, John (2018).The Intellectual Properties of Learning: A Prehistory from Saint Jerome to John Locke (1st ed.). Chicago:University of Chicago Press (published 2 January 2018). pp. Chapter 6.ISBN978-0226487922.
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