POLS 320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Glaucon
6 Oct 2020
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The focus on philosophy is a response to an objection raised by glaucon at. V. 471c-472a: so far, the kallipolis is simply an imagined city. It doesn"t seem possible to bring this city into existence. Plato"s response to glaucon: the kallipolis can only come into existence when (v. 473c; v. 499a-c) Philosophers rule as kings or those who are called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophize, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide". Ii. 375e-376b: the philosopher is like a dog. A dog likes what it knows [knowledge], and hates what it doesn"t [ignorance]. Recall the end of book i (354c): i know nothing i don"t know what justice is. " socratic inquiry exposes ignorance - but it doesn"t establish knowledge. Doesn"t a claim of ignorance already presuppose that you know what you don"t know? (meno"s paradox) Not everyone can be a philosopher" - least of all, the demos (493e-494a): Some are simply ignorant: they have no knowledge.
