Plato's Concept of Superior Men: Guiding Towards Collective Happiness in the Ideal Society
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Plato, Philosopher Kings, Ideal Society, Collective Happiness, Higher Knowledge, Allegory Of Cave, Republic, Book VII, Governance, Philosophers, Solidarity
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Abstract
Unlock the secrets of Plato's vision for an ideal society where collective happiness reigns supreme. Discover how superior men, guided by higher knowledge and untainted by the lust for power, can lead the way to a more just and harmonious city. According to Plato, these philosopher-kings, having accessed the world of Ideas, are uniquely positioned to guide common men towards true happiness and justice. By rejecting individualism and embracing their duty to others, they create a society where the quest for happiness is a collective endeavor. Dive into the world of Platonic thought and explore the notion that those who are least eager to rule are, in fact, the best suited to govern, as they are driven by a sense of solidarity and devotion to the greater good.
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[...] It is not, according to him, for these superior men to be content with rising towards knowledge. It is their duty and it is a matter of obliging them in some way to help, to guide others towards happiness. Eudaimonism, the search for happiness, is therefore at the heart of Platonic philosophy but it is thought collectively and not individually or concerning only a restricted part of the population. For Plato, superior men are indebted to the city because it is the latter that has enabled them, by offering them a high-quality education, to rise to where they are, although they had natural aptitudes. [...]
[...] It is then necessary for superior men to 'get used to seeing things that are in the darkness'. In other words, evolution in this lower world, of the Cave, of ignorance, of common men requires a certain acclimatization on the part of superior men who are too accustomed to the higher world of Ideas towards which they have risen. Plato uses a hyperbole to explain to what extent these superior men will be more clear-sighted than others: 'you will see ten thousand times better than those down there'. [...]
[...] Plato develops the idea of a philosopher who is at the very heart of the city and not the conception of a philosopher living apart from society and evolving only in the ethereal regions of thought. He also develops his vision of the city, of the ideal society in which the quest for happiness is at the center, not individual happiness but collective happiness and which implies a solidarity of some towards others and in which Plato expects a particular devotion from philosophers who must reject far from them any notion of individualism and withdrawal into the higher spiritual world. [...]
[...] Hence, how could they orient common men towards Knowledge. Superior men as defined by Plato, philosophers, those who are capable of rising towards the higher world of ideas can guide common men towards what is really just and good for all individuals. Superior men disdain power and are consequently the most likely, paradoxically, to hold it. They are the ones who are most capable of organizing a harmonious city, a city of individuals who are supportive of one another and leading each of them towards happiness. [...]
[...] It is a matter of being able to confront 'the pains and the honors', the 'ordinary things' as well as the 'more important things'. That is to say, one must be able to face what is positive but also what is negative, what is grandiose but also what is simpler, more humble or even petty. It is too easy for the philosopher to indulge in this superior world. One must be able to confront the City in what it has of good as well as in what it has of bad, in what it can have of grandiose but also in what it can have of very simple. [...]
