Teaching Plato in Translation
by Susan Gorman, Boston University
Original text © 2004 Susan Gorman
The Republic
The Philosopher-King
An important proposition offered in The Republic is that philosophers should be the kings. Melding together philosophy and politics would, according to this text, create the perfect leader.
"Unless philosophers become kings in our cities, or unless those who now are kings and rulers become true philosophers, so that political power and philosophic intelligence converge, and unless those lesser natures who run after one without the other are excluded from governing, I believe there can be no end to troubles, my dear Glaucon, in our cities or for all mankind. Only then will our theory of the state spring to life and see the light of day, at least to the degree possible." (473 d; S&S 165)
This quote cited above states the text's position on the philosopher-king.
I like to ask the students whether they agree with this idealization of political leadership. While they often initially agree, when we then talk about American political leadership, the discussion becomes more complicated. In an idealized president, we expect someone who is intelligent but who also is in touch with the general populace. The philosopher-kings in Plato's conception would have no meaningful interaction with what in today's parlance would be termed "middle-America". How important is knowledge of the general population of a land? After complicating the understanding of political leadership, the students can further discuss these philosopher-kings.
