All foundations of western philosophy and esoteric knowledge seem to have a strong connection with the philosophy of Plato. Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher from the Athens who is also known as the Father of Philosophy because of his immense contribution to the discipline from which many other disciplines emerged. Born in 428 B.C, he followed the philosopher Socrates when he was young but Socrates never wrote any book. After the death of Socrates, Plato travelled extensively through Greece, Italy and Egypt.

During his travel, he was greatly influenced by the mystic Pythagoras who was considered as the first pure mathematician. Pythagoras’s school of thought was profoundly mystical and dominated by mathematics. At the age of 40, Plato returned to Greece and started his first philosophical school where delivered lectures to students. It is from here the writings of Plato have originated later spread all over the world. Aristotle was a student of Plato who studied and taught in the academy for the last 20 years of Plato’s life. (Editors, 2009)

“Idealism” seems to be the main theme in Plato’s writings which is different from the modern view of idealism. This refers to the universal principle which lie beyond the perception of the material world of senses, that consists of realities accessible only to the intellect. He suggested that things which behaved according to mathematical patterns were considered to be more “real” than things which do not. The ancients noticed that the wandering stars, also known as planets, behaved more closely with mathematical principles. Hence, Plato thought that planets were not only higher in the literal sense, but they were also more “real” (or closer to divine) in the sense that they followed strict mathematical principles than events on earth. Plato prioritized mind over nature and only this idealist mind could perceive more than what we seem to perceive in the physical world. (Kepler College)

Instead of an individual mind, Plato seemed to think in terms of a universal mind which is free form emotional and material concerns of the body. Even after Plato’s death, his academy flourished for another three centuries until it was destroyed by the Romans. His teachings have been the foundations and paved way for branches of philosophy like epistemology, ethics, politics, cosmology and esoteric astrology. In the book The Republic, he envisioned a civilization governed by Wise Philosopher kings. Recognized as the Father of Philosophy, he is also regarded as the man who shaped the modern democratic system in which he envisions the form and functions of an ideal democratic system. The basis of the constitution of the ideal democratic system strongly corresponds to the constitution of the human soul. His extraordinary ways of thinking about life as layers of domains following mathematical principles allowed his ideas to appear authentic and useful even in the modern times.