Paradox of the Philosopher King

Can wisdom and power, philosophy and politics be combined to secure justice? Or is it better to separate them, in the interests of both? The philosopher king provides the epigrammatic formulation for exploring these profound questions. This chapter returns to classical political philosophy to recover the concept of the philosopher king as a paradox and a promise of justice. It shows how at the origins of philosophy the presumption of the separation of philosophy and politics was questioned by the Sophists, who proposed their union, counselling to the ambitious young on how to gain political office. It then traces these arguments in their reformulation in Jewish, Islamic and Christian religious thought and how the Sophist’s ambition were taken up in modern political philosophy. Having formulated the core puzzle and question the chapter then shows how they will be examined in discrete chapters that explore the manifold manifestations of the modern philosopher king.