{"id":38409,"date":"2024-09-12T23:10:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T06:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38409"},"modified":"2024-09-12T23:10:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T06:10:34","slug":"exploring-leadership-through-platos-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/exploring-leadership-through-platos-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Leadership Through Plato’s Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In his introduction to Athanasius\u2019 On the Incarnation, C.S. Lewis recommended reading old books. He contended, \u201c Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.\u201d [1] With that said, the challenge to explore the topic of leadership in a work that has been in print for over 300 years was both intimidating and exciting. I turned to Plato and one of the most magnificent treatises on philosophy, politics, and education, The Republic<\/em>.[2]<\/p>\n

He wrote extensively on ethics and political philosophy with a focus on leadership. He explored the character and nature of good leaders, how they should be trained, and what kind of leaders to avoid. While sometimes very complex, he is very good at appealing to readers’ intuitions and sparking their imagination, especially when addressing leadership.<\/p>\n

This can be seen in his use of different leadership models throughout his works, such as the doctor, the captain, the artist, the teacher, the weaver, the sower, and the shepherd. In this post, I will focus on Plato\u2019s treatment of one of the oldest leadership models, the shepherd.<\/p>\n

The Republic: In Brief<\/strong>
\nIn The Republic, Plato explores the nature of justice, the ideal society, and the role of the philosopher-king in creating and leading a just society. Plato uses a philosophical dialogue with Socrates and several others as the vehicle of this exploration. The model of the shepherd is first introduced in Book 1 during an exchange between Socrates and Thrasymacus. It is briefly addressed again in books III and VI.<\/p>\n

The Shepherd Model<\/strong>
\nThrough the shepherd model, Plato suggests that just as a shepherd cares for his flock by ensuring their well-being and guiding them, a true leader should care for those they lead, prioritizing their welfare by caring, guiding, and directing with particular knowledge, expertise, and selflessness.<\/p>\n

The Challenges<\/strong>
\nHowever, the model is not without challenges. In Book I, when it is first introduced, Thrasymacus challenges Socrates by saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou suppose shepherds or cowherds consider the good of the sheep or the cows and fatten them and take care of them looking to something other than their masters’ good and their own; and so you also believe that the rulers in the cities, those who truly rule, think about the ruled differently from the way a man would regard sheep, and that night and day they consider anything else than how they will benefit themselves.\u201d[3]<\/p>\n

Thrasymachus implies the shepherd is not as noble as Socrates suggests. He points out the reality that a shepherd is not ultimately looking out for the good of the sheep but is taking care of them so that, eventually, they can be sheered or slaughtered for the ultimate benefit of the shepherd. In this way, the leader, as a shepherd, exploits their followers for personal gain. Taken to an extreme, this gives us the figure of the tyrant. In response, Socrates contends that the moment a shepherd stops caring only for the good of the sheep, they become something other than a shepherd. Socrates doesn\u2019t refute Thrasymachus\u2019 challenge further and just moves on. Later in Book VIII, Plato deals more extensively with the danger of the tyrants and how they come to power, which is a fascinating concept given our current political moment.<\/p>\n

In the book Models of Leadership in Plato and Beyond, Dominic Scott and R. Edward Freeman examine Plato\u2019s use of the shepherd model and point out Plato\u2019s challenge against it in another of his books, the Statesman.[4] Comparing a leader to a shepherd suggests a significant separation between leaders and followers since the shepherd is not a sheep in the analogy but a different kind of creature altogether. For Plato, the shepherd model would work if the leader were a divine being leading humans.[5] Some degree of separation is necessary, as seen in Friedman\u2019s model of well-differentiated leadership; [6] however, for Plato, the shepherd model may take it too far, or does it.<\/p>\n

The Solution<\/strong>
\nThe shepherd model only works for Plato if it depicts a divine being leading humans. In John 10, Jesus makes it clear that he is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the only example of shepherding that could satisfy Plato. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, unlike a bad shepherd, who, like a tyrant, exploits the sheep and ultimately consumes them. Jesus states that those who consume sheep are wolves, and those who stop caring for the sheep are not shepherds but hired hands who care more for their own well-being than that of the sheep. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Plato, good and bad shepherds are analogous to good and bad leaders. The difference lies in the priority of concern. A good leader shows selflessness in prioritizing concern for the good of those they lead, while a bad leader is self-concerned.<\/p>\n

If space allowed, I would love to explore the leadership principles found in The Republic, which contain key Platonic components like his vision of the ideal ruler, the Philosopher-King, the leader\u2019s role in guiding others out of ignorance in The Allegory of the Cave, and the interesting nuances of leadership in The Tripartite Soul.<\/p>\n

________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

[1] St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria, On The Incarnation<\/em>, Translated by John Behr, (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir\u2019s Seminary Press, 2011), 10.<\/p>\n

[2] Plato, <\/span>The Republic of Plato<\/span><\/i>, Translated by Allan Bloom. 2nd ed, (New York: Basic Books, 1968).<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Plato, The Republic of Plato<\/em>, 21.<\/p>\n

[4] Dominic Scott and R. Edward Freeman, <\/span>Models of Leadership in Plato and Beyond<\/span><\/i>, (Oxford, UK: Oxford Press, 2021).<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Scott and Freeman, <\/span>Models of Leadership in Plato and Beyond, <\/span><\/i>105.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Friedman, Edwin H., A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,<\/em> (New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2017).<\/span><\/p>\n

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