Philosopher as a mentor of the sovereing, or the paideia vicissitudes in the tyrant’s court

Koretskaya M.

The article deals with the role of the advisor and mentor of the sovereign, which was performed by some famous philosophers. By problematizing this role, the author attempts to identify the reasons for such frequent failures of the philosophical paideia in the tyrant's court. In the focus of this study is, first of all, the material, which ancient Greek philosophy gives us, as well as discussions about it in the XX century and in our days. The author analyzes the ancient thinkers arguments in favor of why the philosopher can and should be a mentor for the sovereign, and reveals the difficulties with which this role could be objectively associated. One aspect of this problem is the discrepancy between of how the philosopher understands his mission and what the sovereign who agrees to listen his edifications expects from him.

Keywords:philosopher, intellectual, sovereign, tyranny, paideia, the care of the self, parrhesia