Everything about Philosopher King totally explained
Philosopher kings are the hypothetical rulers of
Plato's Utopian
Kallipolis. If his ideal
city-state is to ever come into being, "philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize" (
The Republic, 5.473c).
In Book VII of The Republic
Plato defined a philosopher firstly as its eponymous occupation – wisdom-lover. He then distinguishes between one who loves true knowledge as opposed to simple sights or education by saying that a philosopher is the only man who has access to
Forms – the archetypal entities that exist behind all representations of the form (such as Beauty itself as opposed to any one
particular instance of beauty). It is next and in support of the idea that philosophers are the best rulers that Plato fashions the
ship of state metaphor, one of his most often cited ideas (along with his
allegory of the cave). "[A] true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he's really to rule a ship" (
The Republic, 6.488d). Plato claims that the sailors (for example, the people of the city-state over whom the philosopher is the potential ruler) ignore the philosopher's "idle stargazing" because they've never encountered a true philosopher before.
Education
Plato describes the philosopher-kings' education as beginning with the general primary education until the age of eighteen and two years of intense physical training. Those performing exceedingly well receive ten years of rigorous mathematical education – because Plato believes the forms can't be fully understood less they be tied in with the sacredness of mathematics. If successful at this stage, the student moves on to five years of training in dialectic. There is a final fifteen-year period of apprenticeship in managing the
polis.
And when they're fifty years old, those who have lasted the whole course and are in every way best at everything, both in practice and in theory, must at last be led to the final goal, and must be compelled to lift up the mouth of their psyches towards that which provides light for everything, the good itself. And taking it as their model, they must put in good order both the polis and themselves for the remainder of their lives, taking turns with the others (7.540a4-b1).
After extensive education, the kings finally understand
the form of the Good.
Relationship to the rest of The Republic
The entirety of
The Republic can be understood as a treatise on education, political thought, philosophy, or psychology. The entirety of the work is concerned with how to raise the guardians, or ruling class of the Kallipolis, effectively. Philosopher-kings are simply the most successful and excellent specimens of guardians; however, there's no real explanation of what happens to the "would be Philosopher Kings". There is only speculation.
Historical philosopher-kings
Several figures in history have been cited as exhibiting key attributes of the Platonic ideal, including:
Several figures in history have been inspired by the Platonic vision of the philosopher king, including:
Ayatollah Khomeini while in Qum in the 1920s became interested in Islamic mysticism and Plato's Republic. As such it has been speculated that he was inspired by Plato's philosopher king and subsequently modeled elements of his "Islamic Republic" based on it.Further Information
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