Plato

Plato is the ancient Greek philosopher who Emerson claims has had the greatest effect on western thought or any of the ancients. Plato was a student of the philosopher Socrates, whose style of debate known as the Socratic method has endured to modern times. It involves asking a series of questions until the interlocutor contradicts himself, then turning the debate around on that point. Plato's influence endures in the idea of the soul apart from the body, the notion that man is both body and soul. This precept was incorporated into early Christian belief and eventually developed into the idea that the body is unclean and the spirit is godly. Much of modern "holistic" medicine centers on reintegration of physical and spiritual (emotional) aspects of humans for balanced health.

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was a friend and fellow traveler with Emerson in the transcendentalist movement. Thoreau...