Picture of Plato
Corbis-Bettmann. From sculpture in the Vatican, Rome.

Plato

Plato was a Greek philosopher who lived between 427-327 B.C. He founded the Academy in Athens, a school which made many important scientific discoveries during ancient times.

Although Plato made no important discoveries in mathematics himself, he played a crucial role in developing a more rigorous approach to mathematics. He believed in absolute truth and he believed that mathematics was the way to figure out those truths.

Plato is also considered the inventor of philosophic argument, having written several works involving Socratic dialogue, such as The Republic.


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The Earth Scientist, Volume XXV, Issue 4, Winter 2009

This special issue of The Earth Scientist, which focuses on Earth System science, was sponsored by The Pennsylvania State University TESSE Team. The issue features the work of middle and high school teachers, and graduate and undergraduate students who have participated in the TESSE program from 2006 - 2009....more

Socrates

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived between 470-399 B.C. He turned Greek attention toward questions of ethics and virtue. Although Socrates was not a scientist, his way of questioning to find out...more

Archimedes

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and engineer who lived between 287-212 B.C. His greatest contributions are in the field of geometry and in the development of war machines. Legend has it that Archimedes...more

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived between 384-322 B.C. He was one of the greatest thinkers of the world and his written works encompassed all major areas of thought. Aristotle mistakenly believed...more

Democritus

Democritus was a Greek philosopher who lived between 470-380 B.C. He developed the concept of the 'atom', Greek for 'indivisible'. Democritus believed that everything in the universe was made up of atoms,...more

Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes was a Greek scientist who lived from 276 to 194 B.C. He studied astronomy, geography, and math. Eratosthenes is famous for making the first good measurement of the size of the Earth. He spent...more

Plato

Plato was a Greek philosopher who lived between 427-327 B.C. He founded the Academy in Athens, a school which made many important scientific discoveries during ancient times. Although Plato made no important...more

Ptolemy

Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who lived between 85-165 A.D. He put together his own ideas with those of Aristotle and Hipparchus and formed the geocentric theory. This theory states that the Earth was...more

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