Charles Kutt

PO 04104
12/13/10
The King
The position of power, of importance, and of direction which government possesses is
due to a substantial quantity of sovereignty and responsibility granted by the people to the
state. This is also the case for Plato and his exploration of the ideal leader in Chapter V of his
masterpiece The Republic. His version of the supreme ruler, to make philosophers into kings,
or kings into philosophers, contracted with the difficulties of running an entire country
remains as interesting and unusual today as it was during its initial statement. To understand
and comprehend Platos claim that philosophers should be kings, one must analyze the several
terms. By discovering the truth about the Philosopher King, by capturing the essence of the
just city that Socrates and his companions are after, and by realizing how obedience to this
thoughtful leader is granted, we may better know the ideal ruler and his Republic.
As citizens of the United States, many of us possess an innate distrust for the
executive position. Presidential episodes such as the Watergate Scandal, rampant political
deceptions, and the faults and lies that many perceive within their own government create an
air of distrust between the office and the populace. Even the most noble of heart are prone to
the evils of power: corruption may strike even the men and women with the best of intentions.
Platos executive leader seems quite different. This leader is a philosopher, the one who is
willing to taste every kind of learning with gusto, and who approaches learning with delight,
and is insatiable (155). This man is a seeker of truth, and as such, this individual is
steadfastly orientated toward the discovery of justice. If a man desires power solely for its

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own sake then he is not a true philosopher. To be a true philosopher he must seek and possess
true knowledge: Platos idea, the Forms.
Since a philosopher, including one in a leadership position, is always focused on the
truth, investigation of this overused word must occur. To Plato there are three types of
knowledge: what is, what is not, and a category combining both. What is not is basically
everything in the physical world, so a true seeker of legitimate knowledge does not bother
himself with such trifles. Opinions and some beliefs fall between What is and What is not,
while the only true existence resides within What is. This is the realm of the complete, of the
essential, and of the truth. Here resides the Platos Forms. Every category applied to matter
has a more complete metaphysical standard to which it is associated. These standards are
unchanging and absolute, therefore full knowledge of them is unchanging and absolute. The
Philosopher King pursues absolute and unchanging knowledge: including the knowledge of
good leadership and justice.
When distinguishing this ideal leader from the rest, one cannot mistake a lover of
sights and sounds as a proper candidate (155). These individuals merely infatuate themselves
with the physical, the corporeal wonders of the world around them. They marvel at what they
perceive through sight, sound, and touch; however, they do not necessarily do through
thought. Knowledge in the physical eventually is therefore incomplete, and such an individual
with incomplete knowledge is not Platos ideal leader.
Plato understands that the prevalence of justice in a city depends on the correct
individuals being in their correct positions. So an individual best suited to lead, Platos ideal
leader, being in the position of importance, power, and direction is therefore just. Good

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gardeners justly garden, good police officers justly police, and good leaders justly lead. It is
logical for these individuals to be in these positions because they are most likely to do them
well.
Though the right individual might be in the position to lead, obedience to this leader is
much more difficult to obtain. Though it is wise to heed the wisdom of a wise man, many do
not. The greatest obstacle in the way of obedience (along with disgruntled failed candidates),
according to Plato, is the family and the bonds it creates between mother, father, and child.
Loyalty to the city and obedience to it is superseded by loyalty to your mother, your father,
your child: your kin. Plato has a way to counter the family. Within his caste of Guardians,
individuals set to protect and lead his ideal city, they may only breed on special festivals once
or twice a year. Marriage and child rearing is communal generation after generation, as a
whole generation will parent another; children will be reared by the state and educated to view
the state as their main priority, as their purpose, as their family.
The Philosopher King and the ideas contemplated in order to provide his optimal rule
are dangerous. They trick, they deceive, and manipulate the populace in order to fulfill what is
just: obedience to the right ruler. With this arises a paradox: unjust and false qualities must be
utilized to ensure justice and truth. This man requires true knowledge, knowledge that is
complete as something that moves past what is sensed and into what is thought. One
infatuated with the physical representations of their purest association (a beautiful woman
instead of the Form of Beauty) fails under proper scrutiny as a true philosopher. Only one
devoted to the absolute and unchanging, the pursuit of philosophy, may be crowned King.

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