Plato was involved in philosophy.
Plato ( [ ˈpleɪtoʊ ] Greek : Πλάτων Plátōn , [ plá.tɔːn ] in Classical Attic ; 428/427 or 424/423 -- 348/347 BCE ) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens , the first institution of higher learning in the Western world . Unlike nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries , Plato 's entire work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years . Along with his teacher , Socrates , and his most famous student , Aristotle , Plato laid the very foundations of Western philosophy and science . Plato was the innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy .