Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?

According to Plato, only the alliance of political power and philosophy could establish a just city and put an end to the evils of cities and men. However, the exercise of power by the philosophers seems to require them to break the very rules they enact: in the Republic and the Laws, they are allow...

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Main Author: Étienne Helmer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques 2023-01-01
Series:Cahiers Mondes Anciens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/4432
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author Étienne Helmer
author_facet Étienne Helmer
author_sort Étienne Helmer
collection DOAJ
description According to Plato, only the alliance of political power and philosophy could establish a just city and put an end to the evils of cities and men. However, the exercise of power by the philosophers seems to require them to break the very rules they enact: in the Republic and the Laws, they are allowed to lie to the citizens, who are themselves prohibited to lie; in the Statesman, the true statesman infringes the laws. Though « justified » by the interests of citizens, these transgressions are no less problematic: how does the philosopher who engages in them differ from the tyrant? This contribution focuses on to what extent Plato considers transgression an inner dimension of political power, and to what extent the division between legitimate and illegitimate transgression is helpful to draw the border between philosophical power and tyrannical power.
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spelling doaj-art-d1e8b7ba79bb4fd1a7eca14f60e014f92025-08-20T02:02:32ZengAnthropologie et Histoire des Mondes AntiquesCahiers Mondes Anciens2107-01992023-01-011710.4000/mondesanciens.4432Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?Étienne HelmerAccording to Plato, only the alliance of political power and philosophy could establish a just city and put an end to the evils of cities and men. However, the exercise of power by the philosophers seems to require them to break the very rules they enact: in the Republic and the Laws, they are allowed to lie to the citizens, who are themselves prohibited to lie; in the Statesman, the true statesman infringes the laws. Though « justified » by the interests of citizens, these transgressions are no less problematic: how does the philosopher who engages in them differ from the tyrant? This contribution focuses on to what extent Plato considers transgression an inner dimension of political power, and to what extent the division between legitimate and illegitimate transgression is helpful to draw the border between philosophical power and tyrannical power.https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/4432transgressionPlatoefficiencylegitimacytyranny
spellingShingle Étienne Helmer
Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
Cahiers Mondes Anciens
transgression
Plato
efficiency
legitimacy
tyranny
title Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
title_full Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
title_fullStr Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
title_full_unstemmed Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
title_short Le philosophe et le tyran de Platon : quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir ?
title_sort le philosophe et le tyran de platon quelle transgression pour quel pouvoir
topic transgression
Plato
efficiency
legitimacy
tyranny
url https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/4432
work_keys_str_mv AT etiennehelmer lephilosopheetletyrandeplatonquelletransgressionpourquelpouvoir