POLI 107 1st Edition Lecture 3 Plato s views on the political role of philosophers Plato believed philosophers should be the ultimate rulers b c they were the only ones who sought out the real truth In a way they would be the supreme rulers Plato believes that only people who have been proven time and time again to make judgments that are in the best interests of society without clouding their judgment with personal interests should be fit to rule Plato s Class Structure Productive Workers the laborers carpenters plumbers masons merchants farmers ranchers etc These correspond to the appetite part of the soul Protective Warriors or Guardians those who are adventurous strong and brave in the armed forces These correspond to the spirit part of the soul Governing Rulers or Philosopher Kings those who are intelligent rational self controlled in love with wisdom well suited to make decisions for the community These correspond to the reason part of the soul and are very few Function and nature of education under Plato Educators must have a deep care for the well being and future of those they work with o Educating is a moral enterprise and it is the duty of educators to search for truth and virtue and in so doing guide those they have a responsibility to teach Socratic teaching method o Teacher must know his or her subject but as a true philosopher he or she also knows that the limits of their knowledge o Power of dialogue the joint exploration of a subject knowledge will not come from teaching but from questioning Children enter school at six where they first learn the three Rs reading writing and counting and then engage with music and sports These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o Philosopher guardians then follow an educational path until they are 50 o At eighteen they are to undergo military and physical training at 21 they enter higher studies at 30 they begin to study philosophy and serve the polis in the army or civil service o At 50 they are ready to rule