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Plato
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Plato was always concerned with the fundamental philosophical problem of working out a theory of the art of living and knowing. Like Socrates, Plato began convinced of the ultimately harmonious structure of the universe, but he went further than his mentor in trying to construct a comprehensive philosophical scheme. His goal was to show the rational relationship between the soul, the state, and the cosmos. This is the general theme of the great dialogues of his middle years: the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, Timaeus, and Philebus. In the Republic he shows how the operation of justice within the individual can best be understood through the analogy of the operation of justice within the state, which Plato proceeds to set out in his conception of the ideal state. However, justice cannot be understood fully unless seen in relation to the Idea of the Good, which is the supreme principle of order and truth.
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Plato's philosophical personality was quite different from that of Socrates. Socrates' style was "conversational" and it remainded thoroughly Athenian and thoroughly focused on politics and the virtues. Plato's travels and his exposure to scholars who came from diverse schools of thought and teachings made him far more cosmopolitan. Beyond Socrates, Plato was thoroughly exposed to the teachings of Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Heraclitus, at least. Plato developed theories about the nature of the world, the constitution and origins of knowledge, and immortal (reincarnated) life. In the Platonic dialogues, Socrates remains an ever-present character but the philosophical subjects become diverse and the style reaches toward lecturing and occasionally abandons dialectic entirely.
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Plato