Hello, I have a question about philosophy. I am supposed to write an essay comparing "general western philosophy" to a philosopher that we talk about in class (which includes Frances Bacon, Plato, Socrates, Charles Guignon, and Aristotle). My question is what is "western philosophy" and how do I compare it to the aforementioned philosophers if they are, themselves western philosophers. Thank you for your time in this matter. All I really need is a starting point and then I am sure that I can come up with something.

(If it helps, the books that we are reading with respect to the aforementioned philosophers are "The Republic" by Plato, "On Being Authentic" by Charles Guignon, and none for Frances Bacon though the teacher has mentioned him several times in class. Also, I can choose any of the characters in the books to use as a philosopher since that all are philosophers.) Thank you for your help!

"Western philosophy" generally refers to philosophy existing within the Western geographical area - i.e European, Russian/Eurasian and North American philosophers.
Basically, anyone you'd read in a philosophy course.

This may help:
http://www.philosophypages.com/