ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the benefits of knowing and reflecting on Plato’s Republic for a rich understanding of leadership. Considering Socrates’ statement on the confluence of “political power and philosophy,” it aims to clarify what the Republic teaches about both philosophy as a human pursuit and the identity of the philosopher, the individual most in line with justice. The Republic is a narrated dialogue, which is a literary form that presents a recitation of events delivered by one character. In this case, that character is Socrates, and he recounts a conversation in which he took part during the previous day in the Piraeus, the port of Athens. Plato’s Republic is famous for the creation of this city – presented as the good and just political order – and the several elements that comprise it. Leadership as the life of philosophy could provide a sturdy counterweight to that alarming argument, one which portends terrible injustices in the real world.
