For other uses, see Philosopher King (disambiguation).
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The philosopher king is a hypothetical ruler in whom political skill is combined with philosophical knowledge. The concept of a city-state ruled by philosophers is first explored in Plato's Republic, written around 375 BC. Plato argued that the ideal state – one which ensured the maximum possible happiness for all its citizens – could only be brought into being by a ruler possessed of absolute knowledge, obtained through philosophical study. From the Middle Ages onwards, Islamic and Jewish authors expanded on the theory, adapting it to suit their own conceptions of the perfect ruler.
Several historical figures, including Alexander the Great and Marcus Aurelius, have been described by ancient and modern writers as embodying the philosopher king ideal.
The philosopherking is a hypothetical ruler in whom political skill is combined with philosophical knowledge. The concept of a city-state ruled by philosophers...
A philosopherking is a type of ruler theorized by the Greek philosopher Plato. PhilosopherKing or Philosopher Kings may also refer to: The Philosopher...
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds the powers of government without control...
flee to the Byzantine Empire. Khosrow I represents the epitome of the philosopherking in the Sasanian Empire. Upon his ascent to the throne, Khosrow did...
figures, including Voltaire, who at one point declared Frederick to be a philosopher-king, and the Marquis d'Argens, whom he appointed as Royal Chamberlain in...
Open Society and Its Enemies is a work on political philosophy by the philosopher Karl Popper, in which the author presents a "defence of the open society...
inevitably leads to tyranny, and suggests that the rule of an enlightened "philosopher-king" (cf. Noocracy) is preferable to the tyranny of majority rule. Popper...
Plato's allegory of the cave is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work Republic (514a–520a, Book VII) to compare "the effect...
Platonic realism is a theory widely credited to the Classical Greek philosopher Plato. The theory suggests that the physical world is not as real or...
House of Bernadotte (King of Sweden) Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester during The Anarchy Wiremu Tamihana in the Māori King Movement Hato Hasbún in...
'saintly king', a moniker with which Mahatma Gandhi revered the king in 1925 for his administrative reforms and achievements. He was a philosopherking, seen...
April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers...
March 2016. [verification needed] "Finding Tolerance in Akbar, the Philosopher-King". 10 April 2013. [verification needed] Harding, A.J. (1995). The Reception...
is the one that leads to the common good. The philosopherking is the best ruler because, as a philosopher, he is acquainted with the Form of the Good....
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mention a certain King Janaka (c. 8th or 7th century BCE) as a great philosopher-king of Videha, renowned for his patronage of...
ISBN 9788120613034. Olivelle, Patrick (2024). Ashoka: Portrait of a PhilosopherKing. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27490-5. Allchin...
enforce their respective claim. Ferdinand I managed to be recognized as King of Galiza, in 1369, although his dominance of the region was short-lived...
according to Plato has an ideal state ruled by the philosopherking. Plato describes "philosopher kings" as "those who love the sight of truth" (Republic...
Callipolis [it] Kallipolis (Plato), the utopian city-state ruled by a philosopher-king, presented by Socrates in Plato's dialogue The Republic Some historians...
apartments. The title of the film (which originally was to be called The PhilosopherKing) is an ironic reference to the original version of the board game Monopoly...
often complain that it does not receive the attention of professional philosophers it merits in virtue of the topic's importance and its potential psychological...
surround him. Benevolent dictatorship Liberal autocracy Noblesse oblige Philosopherking Social imperialism Soft despotism Perry et al. 2015, p. 442. Mill 1989...
monarchy is germane to continental constitutional monarchies. German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in his work Elements of the Philosophy...
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