Plato: The Original Influencer

A Lighthearted Look at the Man Who Invented Deep Thinking (and Maybe Atlantis)

Plato wasn’t just a philosopher — he was the blueprint.
The prototype.
The “OG” of Western thought.

If philosophy were a boy band, he’d be the founding member who wrote all the songs, choreographed the moves, and then started his own academy because nobody else was doing the dance steps right.

With ideas about reality, justice, love, the soul, politics, and possibly a fictional sunken city, Plato left behind enough content to fuel arguments for the next 2,400 years. And he did it all while writing in dialogue form — proving he was basically the Aaron Sorkin of ancient Greece.

Let’s take a friendly, fun stroll through Plato’s world — and don’t worry, there’s only one cave involved.

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A Quick and Surprisingly Juicy Bio

Plato was born around 427 BCE in Athens — a city full of democracy, drama, and people with impressive calf muscles.

He was:

He met Socrates as a young man and instantly became his No. 1 fanboy. When Socrates was executed (ancient Athens was… complicated), Plato left town, traveled, wrote, sulked, and eventually founded The Academy, the world’s first university.

He taught Aristotle.
Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.
Alexander conquered half the world.

So technically, half of world history is Plato’s fault.

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Plato’s Big Ideas (Served Without the Headache)

1. The Cave: Reality Has a Bad Filter

Plato said most people live like prisoners in a cave, watching shadows on a wall and assuming they’re seeing real life.

Translation:
We accept cheap illusions when we should be chasing truth.

It’s basically the ancient Greek version of
“Get off social media and touch grass.”

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2. The Forms: There’s a Perfect Version of Everything (Somewhere)

Plato believed the world we see is just a blurry copy of a higher, perfect reality.
Somewhere there is:

In Plato’s world, this place of perfection is called The Realm of the Forms, and no, you can’t Airbnb it.

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3. Philosopher-Kings: Please Let Smart People Run Things

In The Republic, Plato argued that society should be led by those who are:

A modern equivalent would be:
“Let the introvert who reads a lot run the country.”

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4. The Soul Has Three Parts

According to Plato, your soul is like a chariot with three components:

A good life is balancing all three — not letting pizza win.

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5. Love Is About Becoming Better

Plato argued that love isn’t just romance — it’s a ladder that helps you:

Basically, Plato invented the self-improvement aisle at Barnes & Noble.

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Why Plato Still Matters Today

You encounter Plato’s ideas constantly, even if you don’t realize it:

✦ In classrooms:

Philosophy, politics, education, logic — he started all of it.

✦ In psychology:

The divided soul concept is an ancient precursor to understanding personality.

✦ In literature & movies:

Everything from The Matrix to Inception has Plato’s fingerprints.

✦ In everyday life:

When someone says “That’s the ideal,”
they’re quoting Plato without knowing it.

✦ In conspiracy theories:

Yes, he invented Atlantis.
No, he probably didn’t mean it literally.
(But try telling the Internet that.)

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Plato’s Wisdom, Without the Ancient Greek Dust

Here’s how to use Plato’s ideas today — minus the tunic:

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Final Thoughts From the Philosopher Who Saw Beyond the Shadows

Plato gave us some of the most enduring ideas in human history — and he did it with style, wit, and occasional mythological flare. He believed that:

Not bad for a guy who spent half his career writing imaginary conversations.

Plato reminds us:

Don’t settle for the shadows.
Go find the light — or at least someone interesting to talk to on the way.