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2 Philosophers by Design I The Making of a Philosopher Nothing can . . . be called good, without qualification, except a good will. Intelligence, wit, judgement, and the other talents of the mind, however they may be named . . . may also become extremely bad and mischievous if the will which is to make use of them, and which, therefore, constitutes what is called character, is not good. —Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, chapter 1 Socrates expects of his philosophers nothing less than the salvation of cities. Only philosophers, he tells us repeatedly, can save regimes from all ills, public and private (5.473d; 6.487e, 499b-c, 500e, 501e, 506a-b; 7.536b); they “perfect everything” ( pant’ epitelesai—6.502b); they are “saviors” (hoi sōtēres—502d).1 We have seen that the philosophers of Book 6,2 who possess the philosophic nature and also somehow remain loyal to philosophy, would satisfy Socrates’ high expectations should they happen on a city willing to obey them. Their love of wisdom, truth, and being endows them with every quality, moral and personal; they are blessed with superior intellects ; and, given reasonably favorable conditions, they would fight for justice in service to their cities. The question at the core of this chapter is, 1. See Chapter 1, note 3. 2. As already noted, I refer to the philosophers whose description begins at 5.473c and runs through 6.502c as “the philosophers of Book 6.” 50 Philosophers in the Republic Are the philosophers designed by the founders of Callipolis from 6.502c through the end of Rep. 73 equally up to the task? Chapter 1 sought to dispel the illusion that all philosophers in the Republic are the same. Not only does Socrates playfully permit even dogs to be philosophers (and even to have a philosophic nature),4 but he also recognizes philosophic natures that do not mature into philosophers, as well as pseudo-philosophers who lack a philosophic nature. Chapter 1 showed, too, that Socrates introduces in Rep. 6 at 502e a new type of philosopher, one who is to rule not in a city that happens, by chance, to welcome him, but in the planned city made for him. This chapter will show that this new philosopher, a man (or woman) not only intellectually gifted but also fit for battle, is nevertheless not by nature philosophic, so that in making him (her), Socrates must defy nature and deny chance.5 Chapter 3 will then explore how a philosopher of this kind, formed out of a nature not in its essence philosophic, rules the city designed for him (her). There can be little doubt that this new type of ruler—a blend of sharp wits and mulish constancy—appeals to Glaucon in a way the earlier one never could. Glaucon congratulates Socrates on producing, “like a sculptor (andriantopoios), ruling men who are wholly noble ( pankalous)” (540c).6 The modified philosopher Socrates creates at the end of Book 6 and through all of Book 7 is one Glaucon can respect. By supplementing intellectual qualities with those typical of a soldier, Socrates keeps Glaucon from dismissing the value of philosophy and encourages him to admire the smart and manly philosopher-warrior.7 Glaucon had offered no resistance to the 3. I call these “Book 7’s philosophers,” as noted earlier. 4. As we saw in the addendum to Chapter 1, philosophic dogs are gentle and are even amusingly said to “love learning,” because they love the people they know. Socrates never says of them, however, not even in jest, that they love “what is”—same for the guardians, who are compared to these dogs. 5. It is probable that what Socrates attempts cannot be done. As Benardete notes (1989, 119), “The city may ultimately make its citizens, but it will never make the philosopher. Nature in the form of chance frustrates the true city.” 6. Glaucon is clearly repaying Socrates’ compliment. At 2.361d, Socrates had said: “My, my, my dear Glaucon, how vigorously you polish up each of the two men—just like a statue (andrianta)—for their judgment.” 7. As Ferrari ([2003] 2005, 29) puts it, Socrates makes the ruler in Book 7 “a real man.” See Craig, 1994, 79: “As for someone with a genuinely timocratic nature [i.e., someone like Glaucon], of which the finest embodiment is he who wishes to be honoured for his virtue, he can be made Philosophers by Design I 51 notion of rule by...

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