Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Philosopher King: Plato believed that the philosopher king is the only person who can be trusted to rule well, because only the philosopher has knowledge of the absolute truth, and is able to apply this knowledge for the good of the state. This concept is first explored in Plato's Republic, written around 375 BC. See also State, Society, Governance._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Karl Popper on Philosopher King - Dictionary of Arguments
Gaus I 311 Philosopher King/Popper/Keyt/Miller: Plato's advocacy of intellectual aristocracy and caustic criticism of democracy were vigorously attacked in Popper (1971)(1), the most provocative book published on Plato in the twentieth century. Though the intense controversy that erupted when the book was originally published in 1945 has abated, the issue is by no means dead. Monoson (2000)(2), for example, disputes the canonical view of Plato as virulent antidemocrat. The controversy turns to some extent on one's interpretation of Plato's utopianism. Is the ideally just polis in Plato's view a revolutionary goal, a guide for reform, a standard for evaluating existing constitutions, or something else entirely? A case can be made for each of these alternatives. The fact that the standard for being a true philosopher is set so high that even Socrates, by his own admission (Rep. VI.506b2-e5), fails to qualify strongly suggests that the ideal polis is not intended as an attainable ideal. Cf. >Polis, >Politics, >Plato, >Commentaries on Plato. Literature: (New books on the Republic appear regularly. Among the most notable are Cross and Woozley, 1964(3); Annas, 1981(4); White, 1979(5); and Reeve, 1988(6). Three recent collections of essays are particularly helpful: Fine, 1999(7): vol. Il; Kraut, 1997b(8); and Höffe, 1997(9).) 1. Popper, Karl Raimund (1971) The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945), 5th rev. edn. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2. Monoson, S. Sara (2000) Plato's Democratic Entanglements: Athenian Politics and the Practice of Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 3. Cross, R. C. and A. D. Wooziey (1964) Plato's Republic: A Philosophical Commentary. New York: St Martin's. 4. Annas, Julia (1981) An Intmduction to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Clarendon. 5. White, Nicholas P. (1979) A Companion to Plato's Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett. 6. Reeve, C. D. C. (1988) Philosopher-Kings: The Argument of Plato 's Republic. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 7. Fine, Gail (1999) Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion, and the Soul. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 8. Kraut, Richard, ed. (1997b) Plato's Republic: Critical Essays. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. 9. Höffe, Otfried, ed. (1997) Platon Politeia. Berlin: Akademie. Keyt, David and Miller, Fred D. jr. 2004. „Ancient Greek Political Thought“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Po I Karl Popper The Logic of Scientific Discovery, engl. trnsl. 1959 German Edition: Grundprobleme der Erkenntnislogik. Zum Problem der Methodenlehre In Wahrheitstheorien, Gunnar Skirbekk, Frankfurt/M. 1977 Gaus I Gerald F. Gaus Chandran Kukathas Handbook of Political Theory London 2004 |
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