I am not so sure this belongs in here, but I will give it a shot. I read a book about a year and a half ago, entitled Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder. It is a fictional novel that also describes the history of philosophy. I was thinking about it, and I think somewhere it mentioned that Plato was only a name, not a real person that Socrates used in his teachings. Is there any credit to this, and if so, what’s the deal?
Well, there are several problems with this idea.
- Plato published alot of books for a non existant person.
- Plato wrote “The trial and death of Socrates”. That puts Plato in the same time period or after Socrates all by itself.
- In fact, Plato was a student of Socrates.
- I am unaware of Plato being written about by Socrates at all (but I could be wrong in this count)
I would have to say nope, there is nothing to it.
Plato was quite real, and he lived from ca. 428 to ca. 347 B.C. And he couldn’t have been just a name that Socrates used in his teachings, because Plato was actually a student of Socrates, and witnessed his death by hemlock in 399 B.C. Most of Plato’s best writings were done after Socrates’ death, so that’s either good ‘ghostwriting’, or Plato was quite real.
Maybe you’re getting things mixed up with one of Plato’s writings, which uses an analogy to describe how our perceptions might not necessarily be the underlying ‘reality’. I’m talking about the myth of the cave. Here is a good description:
The myth of the cave describes individuals chained deep within the recesses of a cave. Bound so that vision is restricted, they cannot see one another. The only thing visible is the wall of the cave upon which appear shadows cast by models or statues of animals and objects that are passed before a brightly burning fire. Breaking free, one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. With the aid of the sun, that person sees for the first time the real world and returns to the cave with the message that the only things they have seen heretofore are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they are willing to struggle free of their bonds. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escape into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolizes the transition to the real world, the world of full and perfect being, the world of Forms, which is the proper object of knowledge.
There you also have the basic premise for ‘The Matrix’ 
Let me rephrase that. What I meant to say is:
maybe Jostein Gaarder actually did say this in the book, but not because he thought it was true (As a philosopher, he knows better), but as clever sort of play on the myth of the cave. In the book(=cave) Plato does not exist, but outside the book(=cave), he does.
If I remember my stuff from when I read that book, Gaarder uses this sort of technique quite alot in the book. He shows you the basic premises behind some philosophical points by cleverly interweaving them into the book.
[slight hijack]
I remember also enjoying another of his books: “The Solitaire Mystery”, and I would love to hear from anyone whether they liked “Through a Glass, Darkly”
[/slight hijack]
Socrates wrote nothing. Plato and Xenophon wrote about Socrates. My guess is that Stccrd has remembered this the wrong way around. Perhaps the question should be “Did Socrates exist?”
I’ve heard people say that before, that Socrates (not Plato) never existed. And I think they base it on Plato listing Socrates as a fictional character in the Republic.
But while that character was fictional, Socrates the philosopher was very real. He was a student of Archelaus, served with distinction in the Peloponnesian War, and worked as a stonemason until he inherited a small fortune from his father, Sophroniscus (who was a celebrated sculptor).
Here’s a good short bio on him, with several links to related philosophers and works. You can even read online a number of Plato’s works that deal with Socrates (the real one) and Socratic philosophy.
He is as real as Charlemagne. Just ask Winston Smith.
Thanks for clearing that up. I guess i slipped up and mixed the two.