Philosopher king - Wikipedia Philosopher king From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search King who rules through love and knowledge, as described by Plato For other uses, see Philosopher King. Part of a series on Platonism Plato from Raphael's The School of Athens (1509–1511) Early life Works Epistemology Idealism / Realism Demiurge Theory of forms Theory of soul Transcendentals Form of the Good Third man argument Euthyphro dilemma Five regimes Philosopher king Plato's unwritten doctrines Political philosophy Allegories and metaphors Atlantis Ring of Gyges The Cave The Divided Line The Sun Ship of State Myth of Er The Chariot Related articles Commentaries The Academy in Athens Socratic problem Academic skepticism Middle Platonism Neoplatonism and Christianity Allegorical interpretations of Plato Related categories ► Plato  Philosophy portal v t e According to Plato, a philosopher king is a ruler who possesses both a love of wisdom, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life. Such are the rulers of his utopian city Kallipolis. For such a community to ever come into being, Plato said "philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize".[1] Contents 1 In Book VI of The Republic 2 Examples 2.1 Magna Graecia 2.2 Macedonia 2.3 Roman Empire 2.4 Sasanian Empire 2.5 Hungary 2.6 Modern Iran 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External links In Book VI of The Republic[edit] Plato defined a philosopher firstly as its eponymous occupation: "wisdom-lover." He then distinguishes between one who loves true knowledge (as opposed to mere experience or education) by saying that the philosopher is the only person who has access to ideas – 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 is really to rule a ship".[2] Examples[edit] Magna Graecia[edit] Archytas was a Pythagorean philosopher and political leader in the ancient Greek city of Tarentum, in Italy. He was a close friend of Plato, and some scholars assert that he may have been an inspiration for Plato's concept of a philosopher-king. Dion of Syracuse was a disciple of Plato. He overthrew the tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse and was installed as leader in the city, only to be made to leave by the Syracusans who were unhappy with his opposition to democratic reforms. He was later re-invited to the city, where he attempted to establish an aristocracy along Platonic lines, but he was assassinated by plotters in the pay of the former tyrant. Macedonia[edit] As the student of Aristotle, some argue that Alexander the Great at least partially demonstrated certain qualities of a philosopher king.[3][4] This view was put forward by Onesictritus who described him as a "[p]hilosopher in arms," as well as by Plutarch who also believed him to be both a civilized and civilizing philosopher king.[5] However, Alexander remains a controversial figure in relation to the notion of the philosopher king, as various historians have characterized his life quite differently depending on the time period and geography of the chronicler.[6] Roman Empire[edit] It is widely argued that Marcus Aurelius is a prominent example of the philosopher king ideal.[7][8][9][10] His Stoic tome Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration. Sasanian Empire[edit] In the west, some considered Khosrow I as the philosopher king. He was admired, both in Persia and elsewhere, for his character, virtues, and knowledge of Greek philosophy.[11][12][13] Hungary[edit] Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), who was king of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, was influenced by the Italian Renaissance and strongly endeavored to follow in practice the model and ideas of the philosopher-king as described in The Republic.[14] Modern Iran[edit] Ayatollah Khomeini is said to have been inspired by the Platonic vision of the philosopher king while in Qum in the 1920s when he 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 based elements of his Islamic republic on it, despite it being a republic which deposed the former Pahlavi dynasty.[15] Criticism[edit] Karl Popper blamed Plato for the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century, seeing Plato's philosopher kings, with their dreams of "social engineering" and "idealism", as leading directly to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin (via Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx respectively).[16] See also[edit] Benevolent dictator Enlightened absolutism Geniocracy Noocracy Technocracy Theocracy References[edit] ^ Plato, The Republic, 5.473d ^ Plato, The Republic, 6.488d ^ Pointer, Mica (2016-01-01). "Alexander the Great and Aristotle's Philosopher King". 2016 Symposium. ^ "Socrates Taught Plato, Who Taught Aristotle, Who Taught Alexander the Great - Fact or Myth?". Fact / Myth. Retrieved 2021-03-17. ^ Buckley-Gorman, Richard (2016). "'If I were not Alexander...' An Examination of the Political Philosophy of Plutarch's Alexander-Caesar" (PDF). MA thesis in Classics, School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. ^ Martyn, John R. C. (2014-02-28). "From Tyrant to Philosopher–King: A Literary History of Alexander the Great in Medieval and Early Modern England by Charles Russell Stone (review)". Parergon. 31 (2). ISSN 1832-8334. ^ "Marcus Aurelius: Plato's Philosopher King". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-03-17. ^ Nasr, Simon (2020-08-12). "Who is Marcus Aurelius? – Plato's Ideal Philosopher King". The Wise Mind. Retrieved 2021-03-17. ^ May 16, Peter Tafuri |; 2015 (2015-05-16). "Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher King". L'Italo-Americano – Italian American bilingual news source. Retrieved 2021-03-17.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) ^ Winters, Riley. "The Philosopher-King of Ancient Rome: Marcus Aurelius' Imperium". www.ancient-origins.net. Retrieved 2021-03-17. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2008). Iran: Empire of the Mind: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day. Penguin Adult. p. 65. ISBN 9780141036298. ^ Wākīm, Salīm (1987). Iran, the Arabs, and the West: the story of twenty-five centuries. Vantage Press. p. 92. ^ Rose, Jenny (2011). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. p. 133. ISBN 9781848850880. ^ "Marsilio Ficino: Magnus of the Renaissance, Shaper of Leaders". integralleadershipreview.com. Feature Articles / March 2007. ^ Anderson, Raymond H. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 89, the Unwavering Iranian Spiritual Leader. The New York Times, 4 June 1989. ^ Popper, Karl. The Poverty of Historicism. Routledge, 2002. Bibliography[edit] Desmond, William D. Philosopher-Kings of Antiquity. Continuum / Bloomsbury, 2011. C.D.C. Reeve, Philosopher-Kings: The Argument of Plato's Republic, Princeton University Press, 1988. Plato (1991). The Republic: the complete and unabridged Jowett translation. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-73387-6. External links[edit] Text of section of The Republic pertaining to philosopher-kings. v t e Plato General Early life Concepts Platonism Platonic epistemology Platonic idealism Platonic realism Innatism Platonic love Cardinal virtues Demiurge Theory of Forms Transcendentals Form of the Good Third man argument Euthyphro dilemma Five regimes Theory of soul Philosopher king Platonic solid True name Agathos kai sophos Khôra Kyklos Metaxy Peritrope Philotimon Poiesis Psychagogy Sophrosyne Theia mania Topos hyperuranios Legacy Unwritten doctrines Cultural influence of Plato's Republic Neoplatonism and Gnosticism Platonism in the Renaissance Works Apology Charmides Clitophon Cratylus Critias Crito Euthydemus Euthyphro First Alcibiades Gorgias Hippias Major Hippias Minor Ion Laches Laws Lysis Menexenus Meno Parmenides Phaedo Phaedrus Philebus Protagoras Republic Sophist Statesman Symposium Theaetetus Timaeus Of doubtful authenticity Axiochus Definitions Demodocus Epigrams Epinomis Epistles Letter I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII Eryxias Halcyon Hipparchus Minos On Justice On Virtue Rival Lovers Second Alcibiades Sisyphus Theages Allegories and metaphors Atlantis Ring of Gyges The Cave The Divided Line The Sun Ship of State Myth of Er The Chariot Allegorical interpretations of Plato Family Ariston of Athens (father) Pyrilampes (stepfather) Perictione (mother) Adeimantus of Collytus (brother) Glaucon (brother) Antiphon (brother) Potone (sister) Speusippus (nephew) Related Commentaries The Academy in Athens Socratic problem Middle Platonism Neoplatonism and Christianity Plato's Dream Poitier Meets Plato Oxyrhynchus Papyri 23 228 229 List of speakers in Plato's dialogues List of manuscripts of Plato's dialogues Authority control National libraries United States Other Microsoft Academic Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philosopher_king&oldid=1027088992" Categories: Platonism Political philosophy in ancient Greece Political systems Hidden categories: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MA identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Български Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia עברית Nederlands 日本語 Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 June 2021, at 01:26 (UTC). 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