Plato

Plato (/ˈpleɪtoʊ/;^[1] Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, “broad”;^[2] 428/427 or 424/423 BC^[a] – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his most-famous student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.^[3] Alfred North Whitehead
once noted: “the safest general characterization of the European
philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to
Plato.”^[4]

Plato’s sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues;
thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him,
although 15–18 of them have been contested. Plato’s writings have been
published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions
regarding the naming and referencing of Plato’s texts.^[5] Plato’s dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. His writings related to the Theory of Forms, or Platonic ideals, are the basis for Platonism.