Gain an introduction to the Athenian philosopher Plato, his school the Academy, his writings, and his reception by other ancient Greek philosophers. Plato is most famous for his theory of Forms (the immaterial and transcendent models of goodness), which was hugely controversial in its time and has been variously understood by moderns. We will unpack the claims of and problems with this theory and also survey other Platonic doctrines, such as the three-part soul, as presented by Plato and as interpreted by successors including Aristotle and the Neo-Platonists.

Moderator: Susan Prince is Associate Professor of Classics at UC. She received her PhD from the Univ. of Michigan, where her dissertation reconstructed the views of the not-so-famous philosopher Antisthenes, one of Plato's earliest critics. She has since worked on ancient Cynicism and its hero, Diogenes of Sinope; ancient medicine; and the ancient encyclopedist John Stobaeus.