I first studied Plato in high school and later in college and there are aspects of his philosophy that were troubling for me. For example, the fact that he was against all types of art and thought that philosopher kings should rule the “polis.” Who gets to decide who these people are? One of my college friends said that he felt that some people weren’t competent to make their own decisions to which another replied: “That sounds a bit fascist to me.” To which the other replied: “Well I guess I’m a little fascist.” Or perhaps a neocon in the rough. Simon Blackburn, author of a book on Plato’s Republic, discusses the misinterpretation of Plato by the likes of Leo Strauss and his attitude toward the great philosopher with Alex Koppleman in Salon:
Sometimes, even the newest ideas have ancient roots. Take, for example, neoconservatism, the radical philosophy that supposedly guided the Bush administration's ill-fated foreign policy decisions. Who would have thought the classical Greek philosopher Plato had anything to do with the invasion of Iraq?Twenty-four hundred years ago, Plato wrote a book called "The Republic," in which the famed teacher Socrates and his pupils discuss the ingredients of an ideal government. They decide that there is a higher realm than mere physical reality, that it is the duty of a small cadre of enlightened, elite citizens called "guardians" to become philosopher kings, and that only these rulers can grasp what is truly real and Good. Over the years, "The Republic" has been invoked to justify everything from authoritarian elitism to liberalism, but during the 20th century, neoconservative godfather Leo Strauss reinterpreted it to his own political philosophy, with its controversial assertion that it's OK for the enlightened elite to tell "noble lies" in the service of the Good. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz actually took courses on Plato from Strauss at the University of Chicago; other neoconservative hawks with Straussian genes include Richard Perle, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq and current ambassador to the U.N.; and Bill Kristol, neocon pundit and co-founder of the Weekly Standard.
In his new book,"Plato's Republic," Simon Blackburn re-explores the seminal work. The professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge in England (yes, the professor of philosophy -- in England, Blackburn explains, professor really means head of the department), Blackburn was from 1990 until 2001 the Edna J. Koury distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina. He's also written for the New Republic and the New York Times Book Review; this is his ninth book. Salon spoke with Blackburn to get his perspective on why Plato is a hit with modern American conservatives, and what the ancient Greek philosopher might think of George W. Bush's flight suit.
Click here to read the interview. I thought it was really engaging, I guess it helps to know something about Plato, but probably not.
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