Plato's Philosopher King
Plato and the Philosopher-King
With the Allegory of the Cave, Plato expresses the notion that the best thing a philosopher can do is lead the people and that, in turn, a leader (king) must be a philosopher. Plato emphasizes this idea by equating the unenlightened citizens of his Republic to prisoners in chains (they are, in effect, chained by their ignorance of reality and transcendental truth). The philosopher is he who is able to loose himself from the chains of ignorance and follow the light of knowledge and wisdom. Moving toward this light is an ordeal in and of itself, but Plato makes it very clear that embracing the light is only half of the battle: the philosopher must not be content merely with being enlightened, but must descend to the cave from whence he came and share the light with those still imprisoned in darkness. Because the philosopher has an understanding the of the good, the true and the beautiful, he is in a better position than anyone else to be a leader, or king, of the people of the Republic. This paper will examine the assumption that Plato makes in The Republic (that philosophers must be kings) by focusing on the way that a philosopher's virtues are defined both in the ideal state and in the individual; it will also use the Allegory of the Cave and the theory of forms to give a better representation of the philosopher's role in the city. Finally, it will conclude by answering the question: should today's society be ruled by philosophers?
A philosopher's virtues, according to Plato in The Republic must be rooted in humility, perseverance and justice: the humble man realizes he is in ignorance and must pursue truth; the persevering man realizes that he must not quit whether the going gets tough; and the man who exercises the virtue of justice will embrace philosophy (the study of wisdom) and encourage his fellow man to do so too -- because it is an act of justice to...
Plato and Aristotle Metaphysics The idea of metaphysics is a complex idea that focuses on expanding beyond the mere realities of physics within the natural world. In a sense, this goes "beyond physics," in that the study of metaphysics is "devoted to matters that transcend the mundane concerns" expounded by those of practical scientists such as Einstein and Heisenberg (van Inwagen, Peter). So in a broad term, "metaphysics" attempts to delve deeply
He will be a servant to other servants. Without humility, however, the "servant" will become vain and proud; his vision of truth will likely become distorted by hubris. He will be no good to himself or to others. He will fight with other warrior-kings but for power and influence rather than for truth, beauty and goodness. Humility, in a sense, will keep him honest and in the light (even
Plato and Socrates -- Human Soul There are a number of philosophical tenets that have been the subject of intense scrutiny since humans coalesced into formal societies. Who are we as a species? Where do we fit in with the universe? What is morality? Do the ends justify the means? Moreover, most of all, why are we here and are we free to act as individuals toward greater good? Free will,
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Plato's work is idealistic and, as such, some of the rationale behind many of the conclusions he draws on do not necessarily have a logical or practical motivation. Nevertheless, they are logically tied to most of the assumptions he makes in his work, which is why his conclusions could, ideally, be transposed into the society he had projected. The most important conclusion of his work may be that each part
Plato held that a just state would be run by philosopher guardians. Plato thinks that, given their education, talents, virtues and the way their lives would be controlled in his Republic, such people are the best possible rulers. Is he right about this? One of the contradictions in Platonic philosophy is that its oligarchic structure of rule by philosopher kings who are 'the best' and 'most fit' to create a 'just'
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