Plato's Republic: Image of Festival and the Spectacle of Truth

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applied to philosophers who love truth only for its potential to bring about spectacle and reputation. In this way, although these people begin with the perfectly sincere wish to be true to their inner wisdom and philosophy, the promise of spectacle too often overrides to wish to adhere to wisdom.
While this fundamental corruption of philosophers was frequently blamed on the Sophists during Plato's time, Plato himself disagrees. Instead, Plato blames the seductive influence of public opinion. In this way, public opinion seduces the young philosopher into either agreeing with those around him, or succumbing to a petty sense of persecution (Boyd, 113). Both of these extremes signify an unthinking submission to the lure of spectacle without an underlying element of truth to base it upon.
The elements of science and opinion are furthermore distinguished in order to prove this point. Again, the love of true wisdom is contrasted with the love of spectacular elements that are ...

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Loving these things also cause adherents to search for them wherever they can be found, instead of just in legitimate locations. Plato, using Socrates as speaker, advocates the same devotion for wisdom.
The job of the philosopher is then to create a spectacle that is not only balanced with, but also created by truth, or wisdom. Plato uses beauty to illustrate this point (Plato, 474-480). Science is knowledge of all things, including beauty. Opinions are held by those who adhere to spectacle, while science unlocks the spectacle in terms of knowledge. This is the work of the true philosopher, and also in Plato's opinion, why the true philosopher is the ideal guardian, or ruler, of the ...

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