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plato
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this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2026
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tbf, most of what we know about Socrates is just Plato's fan fiction.
and we tend to forget that he might have had a part in an antidemocratic foreign coup that killed 10% of Athens in 8 months. and he never acknowledged it in his trial for his involvement. and was known as a grifter by contemporaries.
Also Xenophon's fanfiction. Who was also big fans of the 30 Tyrants.
there is something to consider about why Socrates/Plato/Aristóteles are so popular.
they were antidemocratic and were used as the state philosophy of Alexander the Great's empire.
True of a lot of philosophers, playwrights, poets, and historians. They knew who buttered their bread. Always critical to remember a lot of their works have pro aristocratic bents. Particularly true of Roman historians who tend to be very pro Senatorial in their writings. Not a coincidence that Roman Emperors who reigned in the powers of the Senatorial class were usually the most maligned.
That's why Diogenes is my favorite philosopher.
The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. Said Aristippus, "If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils."
Said Diogenes, "Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king."
yhea, we tend to consider ancient philosophers as pure thinkers, while forgetting that at the time, they were deeply political.
As Aristotle said, humans are the political animal.