Plato's dialogues

Plato (424/423-348/347 BC),  ancient Greek philosopher, Athenian citizen,  is one of the most prominent figures of the Greek world: student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy -the ultimate ancestor of the modern university- an influence center of research and learning that attracted men of outstanding ability, is the author of dialogues, debates between Socrates and his followers, his opponents, his friends. Typically, Socrates is challenging the expertise about some facet of human excellence to give accounts of these matters -courage, piety, eros, public affairs- failing to maintain their position under a detailed scrutiny of their concepts and ideas. Since they were written nearly 2.500 years ago, Plato's dialogues have found readers in every generation: in the major centers of Greek intellectual and cultural heritage and gradually became the central texts  for the study and practice of philosophy altogether: in later antiquity, when Greek philosophy was struggling to maintain itself against Christianity and other eastern "wisdoms", Platonism was philosophy itself. During the Renaissance period (13th-14th centuries) Platonism was revived, thanks to translations into the major modern European languages as a social and political center of interest. In Modern times, Plato's dialogues resumed their central place in the international culture as a whole. During the Study Abroad program, students will have the opportunity to get to know how close to contemporary priorities (individual freedom, social understanding, democratic institutions) is Platonism.