The Statesman

Final Paper.

The concept of written laws and their place in government is one of the key points of discussion in the Platonic dialog the Statesman. In this philosophical work, a dialog on the nature of the statesmanship is discussed in order to determine what it is that defines the true statesman from all of those who may lay claim to this title. This dialog employs different methods of dialectic as Plato begins to depart from the Socratic method of argumentation. In this dialog Socrates is replaced as the leader of the discussion by the stranger who engages the young Socrates in a discussion about the statesman. Among the different argumentative methods that are used by Plato in this dialog division and myth play a central role in the development of the arguments put forth by the stranger as he leads the young Socrates along the dialectic path toward the nature of the statesman. The statesman is compared to a shepherd or caretaker of the human "flock." The conclusion that comes from division says that the statesman is one who: Issues commands (with a science) of his own intellect over the human race. This is the first conclusion that the dialog arrives at via the method of division. The dialog, however, does not end here as the stranger suggests that their definition is still wanting of clarity because there are still some (physicians, farmers, merchants, etcÐ'...) who would lay claim to the title of shepherds of humanity. For this reason a new approach to the argument must be undertaken: "then we must begin by a new starting-point and travel by a different road" (Statesman 268 D.)

This new approach that is taken in their search for a definition of the statesman leads the stranger to use myth in order to show young Socrates what it is that the shepherd of the human flock does. It is in the development of this myth that it is shown why the statesman can be separated from many of those who would lay claim to his title. The myth that is used by Plato in this dialog revolves around the idea of the world as being a living creature.

In the myth that is introduced the existence of the world is divided into two epochs, the Age of Kronos and the Age of Zeus. As the myth goes the world is endowed with motion, but alone it cannot move eternally. During a period of time the world is allowed to run on its own energy. This period, however, comes to an end as the world's power and autonomy begins to dwindle. The only way that order can be restored to the world is by divine intervention which is what results as the epoch reaches its climax. For a period of time the motion of the world is reversed and guided by the hand of a divine Shepard who tends to all the needs of those inhabiting the world. The god takes complete control of the affairs of the world as it is restored and reenergized by his hand. Once the world has reacquired its own power to move, the god withdraws his will and the world is again left to move on its own. The period in which the world is guided by god is called the Age of Kronos and the period of global autonomy is known as the Age of Zeus.

The use of this myth serves the purpose of explaining what the statesman does as a Shepard of the human flock. In the Age of Kronos the need for statesman is met by the