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July    9th

THE PHILOSOPHER KING

“For    I   believe a   good    king    is  from    the outset  and by  necessity   a   philosopher,    and the philosopher

is  from    the outset  a   kingly  person.”

—MUSONIUS   RUFUS,  LECTURES,   8.33.32–34

he Israeli general Herzl Halevi believes that philosophy is essential in his role as a leader and
warrior. “People used to tell me that business administration is for the practical life and philosophy
is for the spirit,” he said. “Through the years I found it is exactly the opposite—I used philosophy much
more practically.” War and leadership offer an unending series of ethical decisions that require priorities,
balance, and clarity. That’s what philosophy helps with.
Plato knew this when he imagined a utopia ruled by a philosopher king. “Either philosophers should
become kings,” he said in The Republic, “or those now called kings should truly and sufficiently
undertake philosophy.” Marcus Aurelius was quite literally that philosopher king.
What does that have to do with you? There are fewer kings these days, but we’re all leaders in one
way or another—of families, of companies, of a team, of an audience, of a group of friends, of ourselves.
It’s the study of philosophy that cultivates our reason and ethics so that we can do our job well. We can’t
just wing it—too many people are counting on us to do it right.