Editing Plato (section)

=== Socrates ===
[[File:Socrates Louvre.jpg|thumb|upright|Plato was one of the devoted young followers of Socrates, whose bust is pictured above.]]
In his youth, Plato first encountered [[Socrates]], who would become his teacher and greatest source of inspiration, initially in the company of other Athenian boys in the [[Palaestra]], such as is depicted with [[Lysis]] and [[Menexenus]], who discuss philosophy with Socrates in the ''[[Lysis (dialogue) |Lysis]]'',{{sfn|Nails|2002|p=2}} but he soon would become a member of Socrates' inner circle, meeting with Socrates and his other followers. Socrates, along with the [[sophist]]s of his day, challenged the prevailing focus of [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Early Greek philosophy]] on Natural philosophy, and investigated questions of ethics and politics, examining the ideas of his interlocutors with a series of questioning called the [[Socratic method]].{{sfn|Waterfield|2023|pp=40-42}} 

Socrates' immense influence on Plato is clearly borne out in Plato's dialogues: Plato never speaks in his own voice in [[Socratic dialogues|his dialogues]]; every dialogue except the ''[[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]]'' features Socrates, although many dialogues, including the ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Statesman (dialogue)|Statesman]]'', feature him speaking only rarely. [[Leo Strauss]] notes that Socrates' reputation for [[irony]] casts doubt on whether Plato's Socrates is expressing sincere beliefs.{{sfn|Strauss|1964|pp=50–51}} [[Xenophon]]'s ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]'' and [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[The Clouds]]'' seem to present a somewhat different portrait of Socrates from the one Plato paints. Aristotle attributes a different doctrine with respect to Forms to Plato and Socrates.<ref>''Metaphysics'' 987b1–11</ref> Aristotle suggests that Socrates' idea of forms can be discovered through investigation of the natural world, unlike Plato's Forms that exist beyond and outside the ordinary range of human understanding.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Religion of Socrates |last=McPherran |first=M.L. |publisher=Penn State Press |year=1998 |page=268}}</ref> The [[Socratic problem]] concerns how to reconcile these various accounts. The precise relationship between Plato and Socrates remains an area of contention among scholars.{{sfn|Vlastos|1991}}{{page needed|date=April 2023}}