By Tunji Olaopa
Alfred North Whitehead, the American philosopher, once wrote that all of Western philosophy is but just a footnote to Plato. Outside of its patent exaggeration, we can take this statement to be a compliment to Plato’s humongous influence on the development of the western philosophical tradition. Plato was instrumental to many of the features that makes philosophy a fundamental discipline anywhere today. From epistemology as the theory of knowledge to social and political philosophy, Plato’s imprints are so broad and so deep. Most often than not, contemporary philosophers have found themselves revisiting and revising his philosophical formulations in an attempt to keep understanding complex human societies. Take, as a significant example, his understanding of the Republic as a political community founded on justice. This generates a picture of social harmony that appeals to many political theorists and politicians all…
