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The ''Statesman'' ( grc-gre, Πολιτικός, ''Politikós'';
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Politicus''), also known by its
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
title, ''Politicus'', is a
Socratic dialogue Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the p ...
written by
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. The text depicts a conversation among
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
, the mathematician Theodorus, another person named
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
(referred to as "Socrates the Younger"), and an unnamed philosopher from Elea referred to as "the Stranger" (, ''xénos''). It is ostensibly an attempt to arrive at a definition of "statesman," as opposed to "
sophist A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
" or "
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
" and is presented as following the action of the ''
Sophist A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
''. The ''Sophist'' had begun with the question of whether the sophist, statesman, and philosopher were one or three, leading the
Eleatic Stranger The Eleatics were a group of Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosophers in the 5th century BC centered around the ancient Italian Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, Greek colony of Velia, Elea ( grc, Ἐλέα), located in present-day C ...
to argue that they were three but that this could only be ascertained through full accounts of each (''Sophist'' 217b). But though Plato has his characters give accounts of the sophist and statesman in their respective dialogues, it is most likely that he never wrote a dialogue about the philosopher.


Contents

The dialogue begins immediately after the ''Sophist'' ends, with Socrates (the elder) and Theodorus briefly reflecting on the discussion before the Eleatic Stranger proposes to begin a dialectical investigation with Socrates the Younger into the nature of the statesman. The Eleatic Stranger and Socrates the Younger resume using the method of division employed in the ''Sophist'', pausing to reflect on dialectical methods and a
myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
similar to the myth of ages. Mitchell Miller, ''The Philosopher in Plato's ''Statesman, Parmenides Publishing, 2004. The interlocutors ultimately offer a complicated account of the statesman through a version of division that entails accounting for the object of inquiry 'by carving at the joints' like a 'sacrificial animal' (''Statesman'' 287b-c).


Interpretations

According to John M. Cooper, the dialogue was intended to clarify that to rule or have
political power In social science and politics, power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against ...
called for a specialized knowledge.
Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...
and Hutchinson (1997). "Introduction to ''Politikos''".
The statesman was one who possesses this special knowledge of how to rule justly and well and to have the best interests of the citizens at heart. It is presented that
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
should be run by this knowledge, or
gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...
. This claim runs counter to those who, the Stranger points out, actually did rule. Those that rule merely give the appearance of such knowledge, but in the end are really sophists or imitators. For, as the Stranger maintains, a sophist is one who does not know the right thing to do, but only appears to others as someone who does. The Stranger's ideal of how one arrives at this knowledge of power is through social divisions. The Stranger takes great pains to be very specific about where and why the divisions are needed in order to rule the citizenry properly.


Texts and translations

*Greek text a
Perseus
*''Plato: Statesman, Philebus, Ion.'' Greek with translation by Harold N. Fowler and W. R. M. Lamb. Loeb Classical Library 164. Harvard Univ. Press (originally published 1925).
HUP listing
*Fowler translation a
Perseus
*Jowett translation with introduction a
StandardEbooks
*Plato. ''Opera'', volume I. Oxford Classical Texts. *Plato. ''Complete Works.'' Ed. J. M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Hackett, 1997.


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control Dialogues of Plato Political philosophy in ancient Greece