The critique of Plato in postmodern philosophy

Plato is the most important founding figure of the Western tradition of philosophical thought. Indeed, the fundamental concepts, assumptions and distinctions of the metaphysical tradition of philosophical thought were largely determined by Plato (and Socrates, who cannot be separated from him). Plato's framework for philosophy has determined the trajectory of philosophical thought until today. For this reason, it is possible to see Plato's ghost behind all the concepts and categories of philosophical thought, including modern philosophy. Thus, when the postmodern intellectual approach, which became widespread especially in the second half of the 20th century, attempted to come to terms with this dominant tradition of philosophical thought, to find new ways of thinking, and to bring about a new way of thinking, it had to somehow come to terms with Plato and overcome him. Because in the eyes of postmodern thinkers, overcoming Plato and deconstructing his philosophy would be to overcome the truth-based metaphysical, rational philosophical tradition. When this happens, new channels will open up for philosophical thought and philosophy will gain a pluralistic character. For this purpose, thinkers such as Lyotard, Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault, Baudrillard, etc. try to go beyond this universe of thought by subjecting all or part of the Platonic philosophical tradition to re-evaluation and criticism. Because according to them, this metaphysical philosophical tradition of thought is at the root of all intellectual, social and political crises experienced in the modern age. Postmodern thinkers lean heavily on Nietzsche, followed by Heidegger, in their criticism of Plato. In the 19th century, Nietzsche vigorously attacked the philosophical ideas and assumptions centered on Plato, attempting to demolish, reevaluate and reconstruct them. Nietzsche can therefore be seen as an early precursor of the postmodern approach. Following Nietzsche, postmodern thinkers thought that to overcome Plato was to overcome the philosophical way of thinking and directed their arrows of criticism largely at Plato as the representative of philosophy. Keywords: Plato, Postmodernism, Metaphysics, Truth, Objectivity, Perspective.