Essential contemporary challenges
Week 1
Lecture 1:
Prelude:
This lecture is about philosopher kings and their situation in the current society. The power and
capacity of philosophy. What makes a person a good philosopher?
There is a midterm assignment where we hand in a statement on a current contemporary challenge
(my own example; far right politics or diversity in our society). Based on a philosophical position. We
will then give constructive feedback to another student. for the final assignment, it is a online exam
where we receive short passages from philosophical texts and we explain how we apply them to
contemporary challenges. Attendance of the tutorials is optional but highly recommended. Tutorials
serve to get a deeper insights into the texts, discuss with other students and expand your knowledge.
For each lecture it is assumed that you read the mandatory text, you can read the optional text if you
want. Reading the lecture is work since it can take time before you understand it.
To understand a philosophical text, you can ask yourself a few questions while reading such
as ‘’what is the central question of the text’’, ‘’’how does the author answer these questions’’, ‘’how
is the text written’’, ‘’which arguments in the text are weak and which are strong’’
Philosopher kings and the philosopher students:
A philosopher can be seen in many different views from the classical white guy with a beard to
people who wonder about life or are activists and want to give answers to societal challenges. The
specific power of philosophy are verbal, analytical writing. Plato believes that this power makes
them the ideal kings, they should have the power. Not only the power of philosophy but also
political power. ‘’Unless rulers take philosophy seriously the human race won’t improve’’
Plato tries to answer the question what is justice and why is better to be just than unjust.
Part of the complicated answer to this question is the idea that there is a analogy between the city
and the soul. The city has different classes; rulers (soul: reason virtue: wisdom), and policeman
soldiers (soul: spirit virtue: courage), the citizens (soul: appetite virtue: temperance). Justice is the
master virtue which helps combines the different virtues and guarantees a good order of the state
and the soul. Plato also uses medical analogies, the philosopher is a doctor. Because this harmony
can only be established by order it is better to be just rather than unjust. Plato also has a doctrine of
ideas and forms, according to Plato there is always a idea (form) of something for example the form
of beauty. We build this concept into a concept (what is beautiful), this then translates in individual
entities (who is beautiful) and finally it goes into imitations (a beautiful painting). We have the ideal
form of the cat of which we base our perception on how something should look (how should a cat
look). Plato illustrates this with the sun and the line, there is a sun which reflects on everything and
by getting access to this idea we can get knowledge of the idea. On the next level we have physical
objects. The knowledge goes into the opinion, this can also go in a more abstract level for example
economics. The highest form of knowledge is testing it and putting knowledge into doubt by testing
it to see if that leads into contradictions. The philosopher has access to this knowledge and by this
he can determine what is good or bad, just or unjust. All the hypotheses that we make in knowledge
are steps which lead us into grasping the first principle. Mathematicians cannot grasp this knowledge
because philosophy is going a step further since it steps away from the physical objects. The good is
,normative in the sense that it makes knowledge accessible, it sets the norms for everything else.
People who see beautiful things but do not see the beautiful itself and don’t understand the
concept have opinions on things but have no knowledge. The ideas are the same all the time, they
are unchanged. The doxophilist do not have opinions about these things while a philosopher does.
In Plato’s view the philosophers see the form and the concept of an idea while doxophilists only see
the individual entities and the imitations. Philosophy means loving wisdom and not just loving
opinion. ‘’’not answer a question but just give the question’’
Why philosophers should be kings:
Philosophers should be kings because they are lovers of knowledge and truth and are opponents of
falsehood because they have knowledge of the eternal since they strive for complete knowledge. It
is important that a ruler has knowledge and sees the complete picture of the state and soul.
Philosophers love the mind and reason, they are not greedy, they have no touch of illiberality, they
don’t fear death, they are just and gentle and have measure and proportion. They are ideal kings
because they are by nature of good memory, quick apprehension, gracious, friendly and akin to
truth, justice, bravery and sobriety. They are also perfected by education and maturity of age.
Karl Popper and his critique of Plato.
Popper said that Plato is going away from his routes of Socrates philosophy. (he has written down all
of Socrates teachings, it is unclear what Plato has written himself compared to Socrates). Popper
stated that the philosopher kings were the idea of Plato. Plato is doing wrong to Socrates since it
goes against the ideal of Socrates (readiness to learn, you always want to improve your knowledge
and are never done learning). The republic by Plato however states that philosophers can get a true
access to knowledge. According to Popper philosopher kings are not a good idea since it assumes a
authority of the wise and learned man and goes against the ideas of Socrates. Philosopher kings are
likely to provide self-satisfaction and intellectual complacency. The philosopher will lose his
eagerness for improvement and his self-satisfaction. This critique is formulated by that Popper is
against fascist regimes since Plato would establish a tyranny by giving philosophers all the authority.
Popper also says that Plato maybe himself just wants to be the king and wants to have this power
and that Plato has a strong sense of power of himself. Plato tried to educate kings to be philosophers
and he worked with the tyrant king Dionysius and his son. They liked his philosophy but limited the
power that he had. Dionysius in fact became so annoyed of Plato and his advices that he sold him in
slavery. (Aristoteles and Alexander the great is another example of a philosopher teaching a king,
Voltaire and Frederic the great as well) According to
Plato philosophers love to see the truth and a real philosopher loves the whole and not just parts. He
does not just like music but he loves the idea or form of the beauty. Plato gives the term philosopher
a new meaning; a lover and seer of the divine world of forms and ideas. But Popper points out that
Plato has another advice since the philosopher must also give out a great many lies and deceptions
so if it is about exercising power. Plato encourages to make use of lies and deceptions, the stupid
people don’t know any better and sometimes it is best to lie to them. According to other
commentary Plato’s philosophers are interpreted as honest and we need them for this society
compared to the liars who currently rule the country. But that it is better to not have philosopher
kings instead to have philosopher folks. Then there is better engagement from the bottom-up.
,Kings or fools, or both?
The philosopher can also be seen as a fool. The philosopher can be a mirror to what the king does, a
philosopher is able to be a king or a fool as a mirror to society since nobody really wants to hear
truth. It is a interesting double role and function, this also carries over to the next lecture.
The philosopher kings
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Plato book VI
(Book about Socrates)
Philosophers are the only ones who are capable of understanding what is eternal and unchanging.
Philosophers know more about life and the pursuit of knowledge than the average person does
because of this they are the only ones competent to guard the laws and pursuits of society.
The philosophers who guard the laws and pursuits of society should hold the spirit of
truthfulness, reluctance to admit falsehood in any form and the love of truth. When a man’s desires
are focused on learning their focus is on the pleasure of the soul and not the body. When a
philosopher is properly trained so that he knows that the true value is to be just and to pursue
knowledge he should be entrusted to guard the state and society. If you want be in charge of the
state, it requires you to know to a great many things so who better to fill this role than a individual
who is in an endless pursuit of knowledge, a philosopher.
Philosophers need to be raised in the right way to be useful. Men born with philosophical
nature; courageous, high minded, quick learners with faculties of memory are quickly preyed upon
by family who hope to benefit from their gifts. They are led to chase money and power and led away
from the philosophical life. In place of these philosophers other people fill in the gaps who corrupt
philosophy. The few who are good philosophers are considered useless because society has become
anthietical to correct ideas. All that we need is a philosopher king, a person with the right nature wo
is born in the right way and comes to grasp the forms. Not only is the philosopher the sole possessor
of knowledge, he is also virtuous. A philosophers association with forms indicates his virtue. By
associating with what is ordered and divine. The philosopher becomes ordered and divine in his soul.
A philosopher strives after truth so that all his other desires are weakened. He has no drive towards
money, honor or pleasure which can lead to immoral behavior. Because of this, the philosophers to
rule consist of only a few. Above all a philosopher aims for truthfulness.
Since a philosopher is still a man, he does still have minor desires for pleasure and honor but
since reason dominates a philosopher would never act on those desires. Later critics have pointed
out that the philosopher still acts on virtue. There are two kinds of virtue; civic and intellectual. The
philosophers only have the second kind. The civic virtue is about the needs of the city, the
intellectual virtues stem from the needs of philosophy. If the philosopher only cares about the
intellectual virtue does that really make him fit to rule?
Socrates explains that the form of good is not commonly held to be good. Some think that
the highest good is pleasure while the more sophiscated think that is knowledge. In fact it is neither
of these but Socrates can not exactly say what it is ‘’what is the offspring and good and most like it’’.
The sun: the visible compared to the good which is the intelligible realm. The form of good is not
visible but it is the ultimate aim of knowledge. The form of good is beyond being.
, The line: the line illustrates the way of accessing the world. The four grades of knowledge and
opinion available to us. A line broken into four segments; the bottom two are the visible realm while
the top two represent the intelligible.
The bottom two lines are imagination and belief while the top two represent thought and
understanding.
Philosopher Kings, Karl Plopper
There is a big difference between the platonic and Socratic creed. Plato follows Socrates that
Philosophers are the people who love truth but he himself is not quite truthful when he makes this
statement. He does not believe in it since he says that sovereign make use of deceit. It is the
business of the rulers to tell lies to deceive it’s enemies and citizens for the benefit of the city. The
appeal to collective utility is the ultimate ethical consideration. If however someone else is caught in
a lie they will be punished. Only in this are philosophers in the platonic sense lovers of the truth.
According to Plato everyone must do the work that is assigned to them in the state, if you can not do
that you are useless. According to Plato the philosopher king must use a great many lies for the
benefit of the city and the best form to live in is a Totalitarian unity. Citizens and the rulers should
believe in the propaganda lie for the benefit of their city. Plato considered political opportunism
more important than religion.
Plato defines justice as that which serves the interest of his totalitarian state. Anything that
serves the interest of the state must be believed and called true. Plato does not see a philosopher as
a seeker of truth but rather as it’s proud possessor. What Plato demands is the rule of learnedness.
The first and foremost function of the philosopher is that of the city founder and lawgiver. If the
state is to be stable then it must be a true copy of the divine form or idea of the state but only a
philosopher can grasp those forms. A philosopher is a lover and seer of the divine world of forms
and ideas. As such the philosopher is the man who may become the founder of the virtuous city.
Plato’s idea of the good is the highest in the hiarchy of the forms it is the sun of the divine world
which not only sheds light on all the other members but is the source of their existence.
The best way to find out why a philosopher is needed as a permanent ruler is to ask the
question what happens according to Plato to a state which is not permanently ruled by a
philosopher. Plato believes that the state will then degenerate. Plato also found it important to
focus on eugenic breeding so that people would have children according to the rules of the state.
Forget Plato’s Philosopher Kings
The current world leaders are far from the wise image which Plato has once painted. Our desire for
wise leaders has increased after the insurrection at the capital. It reminds us of the fall of democracy
which Plato has described in which a strong man is elected but his desires lead to tyranny. According
to Plato to avoid this unhappy end we need benevolent rulers who are ruled by reason rather than
desires (philosopher kings).
What if Plato is right about the importance of philosophy but wrong about the role which it
should occupy, what if instead of philosopher kings we build philosopher folks. These folks could
grow in virtue and demand better of their leader. Building up philosopher folks provides some sense
