Who is to guard the «guardians»? Plato, the power of discourse, and the relevance of education in the formation of the ruler

Abstract

When thinking of the relations between philosophy and education and attempting to search for this connection in Classical Antiquity, one usually evokes Plato’s Republic. Probably Plato, with his rejection of democracy and his focus on censorship of marriage and literature, cannot provide us with helpful remarks to better understand our imperfect and sometimes disorganized political systems. I shall argue, though, that, despite these details, some Platonic suggestions can be useful both to comprehend and to think again the relations between philosophy and education, and to reexamine the technical and characterological qualities the rulers should meet. Plato still has something to tell us not only from the theoretical discussion standpoint but also from that of the current political speech. With his view that the philosopher-ruler acquires real authority from knowledge, Plato displays a refined philosophical model where education understood as «character formation» can furnish reasonable aspects, even within the domain of public debate. Finally, I also hold that the knowledge the Platonic ruler has is not a purely theoretical ingredient but also a practical one. None of Plato’s arguments can solve our difficulties, but almost all his reflections can be useful for the formation of responsible citizens.