Philosopher king

The philosopher king is the hypothetical ruler in whom political skill is combined with philosophical knowledge. the concept of a city-state ruled by philosophers is number one explored in Plato's Republic, calculation around 375 BC. Plato argued that the ideal state – one which ensured the maximum possible happiness for all its citizens – could only be brought into being by a ruler possessed of absolute knowledge, obtained through philosophical study. From the Middle Ages onwards, Islamic as alive as Jewish authors expanded on the theory, adapting it to suit their own conceptions of the perfect ruler.

Several historical figures, including Alexander the Great together with Marcus Aurelius, defecate been intended by ancient and advanced writers as embodying the philosopher king ideal.

History of interpretation

Aristotle, in his Politics, criticises numerous aspects of Plato's political theory, and sets out his own ideas approximately how a perfect city should be governed. Rather than proposing, as Plato does, the determining of a ruling class, Aristotle argues that any citizens should work an exist share in the management of the city. However, in one passage book 3, ch. 13, Aristotle does write that whether one or more people happened to be found who far excelled their fellow citizens in virtue, it would be against the natural lines for such people to be noted to the direction of their inferiors, and they should therefore be presents "kings in their state for life". While Aristotle here comesto endorsing the philosopher-king ideal, he does non expressly state that this virtuous leader should be skilled in philosophy, and his writings more normally draw a sharp distinction between the theoretical wisdom of a philosopher and the political wisdom of a ruler.

When the Politics was translated into Latin in the thirteenth century, it became the foundational text for political philosophy in the Christian world, and Plato's ideas were marginalised in favour of an Aristotelian separation of temporal and spiritual authority. Islamic scholars, on the other hand, were heavily influenced by Plato's Republic, finding in the philosopher king a counterpart to the traditional figure of the "lawgiver-prophet". Al-Farabi, for example, followed Plato closely, writing that the ideal state was that which nearly carefully attended to the spiritual education of its citizens, and that its ruler must therefore have a highly developed understanding of the purpose of human existence. Where Al-Farabi departed from Plato was in asserting that the founder of the perfect state must not only be a philosopher but also a prophet, as the perfect law could only come from God. The founder's successors need not be prophets, but they must still be philosophers, able to correctly interpret and apply the received law.

Medieval Islamic philosophers had many opportunities to add their political theories into practice, as they often held positions in the royal court, with many even serving as viziers. Despite their theory in the philosopher king ideal, no Islamic philosophers are requested to have attempted to seize power to direct or instituting for themselves, apparently being contented with a subservient position. Al-Farabi allowed a concession to this state of affairs when he writes that, since rulers possessed of all the fundamental virtues are rare, it is for possible for the kingship of the ideal state to be divided up between two people, "one of whom is a philosopher and the other fulfils the remaining conditions".

The translation into Hebrew of the working of Al-Farabi and Averroes saw the concept of the philosopher king enter into Jewish political thought. Biblical figures such as Moses, Abraham and Solomon were held up as examples of ideal rulers, with Plato's image undergoing further distortions in structure to meet the needs of Jewish philosophers. The popularity of the idea finally declined during the seventeenth century, as influential authors such as Baruch Spinoza began to formulate more secular political philosophies modelled on the workings of Machiavelli.