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Arguments Against The Philosopher King

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On the other hand, objections against the government of philosopher-rulers can be made. However strong the foundation of the strengths of his idea of a philosopher king may be, there are also a lot of flaws and weaknesses and misconceptions that can be found in it. While in truth that his arguments with regard to them as the ones who are more suitable and capable of giving better judgments than those of the normal men, it is still not persuasive enough to capture the minds of the other philosophers that time into taking into action the idea of the philosopher king. And while his altercation may be valid enough to stand in solid ground, it is still not contemporary with the realistic perception of the world and as well as to the modern …show more content…

He is required to have a very wide understanding of the different aspects of the state and the philosophy of the human mind. The philosopher that is to be considered king must have earned wisdom that is above any other philosopher of his time had gained. Plato also argues that a specific education, available to few, will allow these few to become philosophers, and in these few philosophers can only then the king can be chosen. The system stands on a firm explanation but this would create a ruling class that is not representative of the ruled. Only those that have the resources to undergo such extensive training have the clear chance to have the seat of the king and this would create complications to those poorly resourced but have the spirit and the mindset to be the leader of the state. These requirements limits those that are less and gives chances only to a few people with influences thus making the people of the state feel more left behind compared to the democratic state they are currently using. At the same time, it is hard to find a government that is 100% representative of its population. The few elite that is to has been chosen by the extensive tests will comprise the government with the best on the top and even thought Plato may say that this is a more effective way to take over the matters of the state compare to other political system, the people that comprises the government is never part of the whole population of the state and instead only represents a part of it, specifically often the upper and richer people and families and leaves the hapless no representative at all. The problem regarding the representative of the less privileged people to take the extensive training required to be considered a qualified philosopher to rule in a state does not stops with the explanation that the few elite chosen will understand

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In the beginning of book VI, Socrates makes a point by saying that philosophers have always been able to see things as they are versus people who see things as they vary and so he asks, who should rule? (484b) Socrates then launches into how philosophers are the ones who love the truth and want nothing and will not stand for anything, but the truth. (485c) It is because of that they should rule and so Socrates is asking for a philosopher-king who will seek nothing but the truth through knowledge and wisdom. This is the most important and boldest claim Plato makes in the defense of philosophy.

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Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.

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Absolute monarchy is rule by one person, usually a King or Queen, who obtains absolute power of authority with no repercussions for what he or she does. Bishop Bossuet held strongly to the argument of absolute monarchy, whereas John Locke opposed on the basis of man's natural rights. Bossuet and Locke have different views on the government’s source of power and their ideas about the rights of the people, but agreed that their chosen theories are in the best interest of the people and held their country's unity in high regard. The first thing we can look at when comparing the two philosophers ideas, is their differences of opinions on the government's source of power.

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There are many things a king needs to be great. A king needs to be well-liked by his subjects to prevent being overthrown. Kings also need confidence, and substantial knowledge of the land and of the people he rules. Being well-liked and having conviction and knowledge are very important, but most of all, a king needs to be levelheaded. In order to call the important shots that impact an entire nation, a king needs a thorough thought process to reach the proper decision.

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Plato proposes that in order to function the noble lie effectively, the citizens must be persuaded to believe that their political role was chosen prior to birth, due to the composition of gold, silver or bronze in their souls . This gives rise to the ‘’Myth of Metals’’ , which states that every citizen is born from the earth and must regard the native soul as their mother. The citizens possessing gold and silver are the most honored and qualified to rule, whereas a workman takes no part in protecting or governing the city and carry on all necessary lines of work. The city state must be ruled by the philosopher kings who belong to the category of rulers and possess a high degree of knowledge and are capable of identifying the activities that promote the welfare of the entire society. The philosopher kings must be chosen from amongst the class of

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This excerpt is giving a sturdy explanation on the topic of tyranny,and how it gave us a clarification on how tyranny is being stopped by overpowering the king. Critics also argued that the king or queen could create laws that applied to only some people and not others, and that unelected officials could make decisions that negatively affected citizens. The people were exhausted and started to realize that they wanted to overthrow the king themselves. Critics of the monarch read and discussed what tyranny meant in order to argue for their notion of the rule of law.

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298 Words | 2 Pages

Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.

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Everyone has a perspective of their own about the government whether it be good or bad. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato and English philosopher John Locke both discuss the topic of government in their literatures. In the Republic by Plato, Plato introduces this concept of a just city. In this city, he believes that the older and wisest person(s) should rule as they are very knowledgeable. Everyone is born innately different according to Plato.

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