Question

A. In the Republic, why does Plato think that only philosophers are equipped to rule? B. Why does he think that a proper philosopher will be virtuous?

Answer 1

Thank you for the questions.

Why does Plato think that only philosophers are equipped to rule?

In the Republic, Plato relates to ancient cultures and to their rulers and provides a contrasting picture to elicit his opinions and here he ponders quite imaginatively as to what qualities should a ruler naturally have and he is very considerate of philosophers and of the cults formed by philosophers of his land and he finds that what he has read and understood of these philosophical traditions is only a glimpse of the depths to which they train themselves to go and in doing so Plato realizes that a philosopher is truly a man of experience and truly understands the essence of things and sees the value in things even if he does not agree with a certain group's ideologies, a philosopher is equipped with the right kind of tools that would allow him to tackle with the ups and downs of ruling a group of people and he would understand the true meaning of power, that is, he would see power not in the sense of power over others rather as power exercised by a group and multiplied henceforth. He would be able to empathize with people who have never experienced the depths of human experiences and he would be able to stand bold over the problems of his people.

Why does he think that a proper philosopher will be virtuous?

Again, Plato has high regard for the subject matter of philosophy and he sees it as a field of enquiry that allows a subject to analyze his own behavior, thoughts and actions and to move beyond the limitations of the thoughts and ideologies that are acceptable to his tribe. In this process, the philosopher acquires whatever is good around him and transforms what is not so good into something useful and in doing this a philosopher becomes akin to a creator and that is the image of a virtuous man.

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