57: How To Live A Fulfilling Life - Plato (Platonic Idealism)

Philosophies for Life

In this podcast, we will be talking about how to have a fulfilling life from the philosophy of Plato. His philosophy is often referenced as Platonic idealism. For Plato, one of the main purposes of learning philosophy is to enable one to live a fulfilled life.
The state of fulfilment or well being was named by the ancient Greek philosophers as eudaimonia. For Plato, eudaimonia is strongly related to virtue. Plato’s main ethical view is that the unjust man's soul, without virtue, is chaotic and at war with itself. Even if we satisfy all our desires and wishes, if we are not in harmony with ourselves and with the community of people around us, we cannot achieve eudaimonia.
To help you better understand what Plato believed defined a fulfilled life and how can we achieve eudaimonia, here are 9 lessons from the philosophy of Plato:
01. Educate yourself
02. Have an active life
03. Avoid anger at all costs
04. Be content with little
05. Live honorably
06. Be in charge of your own happiness
07. Find inspiration in music
08. Find your soulmate
09. Care about the happiness of others
I hope you enjoyed listening to this audio and hope these 9 ways from the philosophy of Plato, adds value to your life and helps you in living a fulfilling life.
Plato is one of the most famous philosophers of all time. He represented the philosophy of ancient Greece, belonging to its Classical Period. He was born into an aristocratic and influential family in Athens, where he founded the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the entire Western world. Along with his mentor Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato is one of the most influential individuals in the entire history of humankind. It can even be said that he is one of the pillars of Western civilisation. His philosophy is often referenced as Platonic idealism and his biggest contribution is the Theory of Forms or Doctrine of Ideas, which asserts that the physical world is not the real world. Instead, ultimate reality exists beyond our physical world, in the world of ideas. Plato was not only a prominent figure of philosophy, but also of religion and spirituality; so-called Neo-platonism deeply influenced Christian theology. Plato invented the written dialogue and dialectic form of philosophy. Some of his most famous books are The Republic, The Symposium, The Apology of Socrates, Allegory of the Cave and The Dialogues of Plato, in which the main character is Socrates, who influenced Plato’s philosophy to a great extent. His entire work has survived for more than 2,400 years and has remained very popular the entire time. Like his mentor, Plato was a practical philosopher and there are many life lessons to learn from his philosophy.