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A philosopher king.

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Q: According to Plato what was the best type of ruler for an ideal society?
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Who was the ruler of Plato's perfect society?

A Philosopher-King


Why did Plato believe that an ideal society would be run by philosopher-kings?

Rather than the practical pursuit we are accustomed to, for Plato, Politics is an intellectual faculty. Governance by non-philosophers is to be governed by opinions, beliefs and self-interest; in contrast the philosopher ruler will govern with virtue and justice with no hidden agenda. The philosopher is in love, in love with learning, knowledge and truth. It is important to make a distinction here between the acquisition of knowledge and the acquisition of truth, because knowledge is not necessarily the truth.


What ruler expressed concern over the impact of the slave trade on his society?

Because obama told them no to


What was John Locke's Political Philosophy?

Hobbes believed that a ruler was necessary to maintain social order, and that in order to achieve a stable society, people had to give up all individual rights, except for the right to protect their own lives. The people were to trust the leader to work for their well-being. Locke thought that people did not need to give up all their individual rights, and that the ruler should preserve those rights; if the ruler did not, the people should be able to overthrow that ruler.


Why does Plato believe that philosophers would make the best rulers?

Why does Plato believe that only Philosophers are fit to rule? Rather than the practical pursuit we are accustomed to, for Plato, Politics is an intellectual faculty. Governance by non-philosophers is to be governed by opinions, beliefs and self-interest; in contrast the philosopher ruler will govern with virtue and justice with no hidden agenda. The philosopher is in love, in love with learning, knowledge and truth. It is important to make a distinction here between the acquisition of knowledge and the acquisition of truth, because knowledge is not necessarily the truth. With the help of an allegory, Plato explains the sensible world of illusion and belief, the place where most people reside. The philosopher has stepped outside this world, into a world of knowledge and truth. Plato makes use of a cave to explain this; I will use another means. A child believes in the myth of Santa Claus, a child has good reason to suppose this myth is true, it is inculcated when he receives Christmas presents, the media, family and friends consolidate the belief, the child even writes to Santa Claus and receives a reply. On Christmas Day this belief becomes a 'reality'. Through education and maturity, the child will have doubts as to the truth of this illusion. At some stage during the transition from childhood to adulthood he will acknowledge the illusion, and further, during parenthood the myth really comes home to roost as knowledge and absolute truth. (He now has a choice; he can put an end to the myth or continue the cycle) What is distinctive regarding each stage, is how far they have come out of the cave. Through illusion and belief to knowledge, or from artisan to auxiliary to philosopher. The fundamental prerequisite to becoming a philosopher ruler is to have knowledge of the forms, therefore knowing the truth. The forms do not exist in the sensible world, they can only be found in the super-sensible world. Platos' theory of the forms is partly logical and partly metaphysical. The logical part is, take for example a dog, there will be many types of dog, and general particulars regarding a dog. The form of a dog is universal and eternal it has no position in space or time, it is not born when a dog is born, nor does it die when a dog dies. The metaphysical part of the theory is the form of a dog is a perfect, unique dog, created by God. The dog is real, particular dogs are apparent. Armed with this truth, the philosopher rulers will always make the right decisions, and rule with total wisdom, justice and virtue. The rulers will not own property, nor have money, they will be free of vices, excesses and desires. They will have a Spartan existence (Plato was an admirer of Spartan culture). A ruler in Platos' society as described in his dialogue The Republic would be incorruptible, an absolute model of sensible world perfection and justice. If one was to look no further into Platos' utopian society you could be forgiven for thinking that the philosopher rulers would be the ultimate answer for political duties and government administration. A more detailed examination of policy and structure is necessary, prior to arriving at a conclusion. The structure in Platos' society is tripartite and hierarchical, made up of the philosopher kings as rulers. The auxiliaries who will be in a sort of military role (prospective rulers) and the artisans (workers) who will produce all the consumable and non consumable goods deemed necessary for consumption and the continued economic viability of the society....cont'd

Related questions

Who was the ruler of Plato's perfect society?

A Philosopher-King


Who was the Roman Emperor that epitomized Plato's description of a ruler?

In his book The Republic, Plato described a utopian and ideal state which would be ruled by a wise philosopher king. Marcus Aurelius would be the emperor who would fit this ideal. He was one of the five good emperors and he was a stoic philosopher.


According to the Legalism how could a ruler bring order to society?

penis


Who created the idea of government by ruler's and administrator's and producers?

plato


Who is Cape Towns ruler?

Dan Plato is the mayor of Cape Town.


Why did Plato believe that an ideal society would be run by philosopher-kings?

Rather than the practical pursuit we are accustomed to, for Plato, Politics is an intellectual faculty. Governance by non-philosophers is to be governed by opinions, beliefs and self-interest; in contrast the philosopher ruler will govern with virtue and justice with no hidden agenda. The philosopher is in love, in love with learning, knowledge and truth. It is important to make a distinction here between the acquisition of knowledge and the acquisition of truth, because knowledge is not necessarily the truth.


How Plato justify absolutism?

his perversion of idealism is his absolutism,, when any one tries to enforce his ideals he becomes absolutist......... the dollowing points will show absolutism in Plato's political philosophical; absolutism in his concept of justice, in concept of philosopher ruler, absolutism in his concept of communism of spouse and property, in ideal state which was not practically possible and in his concept of state controled education.


What did Plato write in the republic?

About autocracy and how everyone should fall under three classes, farmers, artisans, warriors, and the ruler


Do any of the eighteenth century rulers discussed in this section have the characteristic of an ideal ruler?

penis?


What did Plato believe were the only tools that should be used in geometry?

Plato believed that the only tools needed for geometric calculations was a compass and a ruler. The type of compass being the type with a pencil attached to a pointing device.


Who are the members of the shang society?

some details that would describe the shang society is that it has many empires but only one ruler at a time and people could overthrow that ruler


What is an anarcy?

a society without certain ruler(s) or authorities