Socrates’ Influence on Plato. Explained.

---

“All that’s Platonic is essentially Socratic.”

The above statement recognises the immense influence of Socrates over Plato.

Socrates was Plato’s teacher and friend. He considered Socrates as the wisest man who should be ruling Athens. Plato’s idea of the Philosopher Ruler may be linked to the status of Socrates in his eyes.

Plato’s hatred for democracy arises largely from the execution of Socrates by the democratic government of Athens.

Socrates is the main character of Plato’s dialogues. In Plato’s early writings, he expresses his views through the character of Plato.

Socrates’ theory of knowledge is the foundation of Plato’s philosophy. Plato has taken the dialectics method from Socrates.

However, it must be noted that Plato goes beyond his master. Many theories such as the ones on education and communism are Plato’s original contributions.

Plato’s later works such as The Statesman and The Laws are devoid of Socratic influence.

Moreover, Socrates is not the only influence on Plato. Many prominent Greek thinkers such as Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Heraclitus also influenced Plato.

We can say that all that’s Platonic is more than Socrates.