The central tradition of Western thought owes its very existence to Plato. He was the true philosopher of beginnings, since he started the serious discussion of almost every great philosophical question. He wanted us to focus on our souls, and to live out the unchanging standard of morality he first learned from Socrates.

But his God bears no practical relationship to our lives. His world of Forms has no connection with this physical universe, except through his epistemological speculations. The world wanted a more concrete explanation. Enter Aristotle, next week.

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