# Plato — The Genealogy of Morals character guide

> Plato in The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0010-the-genealogy-of-morals

## Who they are

Ancient philosopher whose idealism is linked to the ascetic priest's worldview.

## In the story

### [Chapter 5](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/5)

Cited as one of the philosophers who held pity in contempt, alongside Spinoza and Kant.

### [Third Essay: What Is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/third-essay)

Invoked as an early philosopher whose idealism prefigures the ascetic ideal's valuation of truth over appearance.

### [Chapter 7](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/7)

Listed among unmarried philosophers who exemplify the ascetic ideal.

### [Chapter 18: The Ascetic Priest's War with Pain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/18)

Nietzsche references Plato as an example of the Greek oligarchic tension, noting Plato's awareness of the desire for tyranny lurking beneath oligarchy.

### [The Guilty Methods of the Ascetic Priest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/19)

Referenced regarding the value of the 'honest' lie.

### [The Ascetic Ideal and the Modern Unbelievers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/24)

Mentioned as part of the Christian-Platonic belief that truth is divine, which underlies modern faith in science.

### [Chapter 25: Science and the Ascetic Ideal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/25)

Cited as the greatest enemy of art in Europe, whose instinct recognized art's fundamental opposition to the ascetic ideal.

## Links

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- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se
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