Plato
Greek · -428–-348
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle. His dialogues — including The Republic, Phaedo, and The Symposium — form one of the foundational texts of Western philosophy. His theory of Forms posited a realm of perfect, abstract entities of which earthly things are mere imperfect copies, a metaphysics later picked up by Christian theology and a recurring foil for empiricist critique.