Carl Smith

12:30-3:30M

Psychology

Plato, A contributor to Psychology

Plato was born at about 430 B.C. in Athens, Greece during the third of the Peloponnesian War

between Athens and Sparta. Plato was the son of a wealthy nobleman who played important

roles in the politics of Athens. After his father's death his mother married a friend of Pericles so

he was politically connected to both the oligarchy and democracy. {1}Not much is known about

the days of young Plato. He was of some higher social class, hence his elitist education and his

ability to travel to Sicily and even as far as Egypt. Being brought up in a noble family meant that

he would have access to the best libraries and teachers available in his day. While he always

preferred to stay in Athens, he knew a lot about the outside world, mainly through reading and

intimate discussions with others. Even as a young boy, Plato wrote poetry, plays, and his

association with Socrates gained him national recognition by others of young nobility in

Athens. {1} Plato then became a Greek philosopher who was controversial because he strongly

rejected the concept of the mind being separate entity to the body. He felt that ideas originated

in the mind and also introduced the idea of the brain’s mental processes. Plato avidly

taught, discussed and shared his understanding of the meaning of life and human purpose.

Plato opened an Academy in 367 B.C. in Athens, this school is now known as the

Academy of Athens[2].

One of Plato’s most obvious contributions to Psychology was the famous book of

writings called Republic. In Republic, Plato focuses on the idea of a Utopian society and finds

similarities with the utopia and the human mind. For Example, according to Plato the human

mind has 3 major elements, intellectual, courageous and appetitive. In a similar way as society

(in 300 B.C.) has philosophers, soldiers, and workers.

 Works Cited

{1} http://psychologytutor.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/exploring-psychology-with-plato/

Exploring Psychology with Plato

[2] http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/plato/biop.htm
Thinkquest Team 18775