In Plato's Republic, Socrates argues that in order for the perfectly just city to be realized in practice, philosophers must become kings and kings must become philosophers. To prove his point I will discuss the metaphor of the divided line and the allegory of the cave to explain Socrates' theory of knowledge. Finally, the question of whether what a person knows makes them a better person? Does it qualify him to govern? They will receive an answer. First of all, what is the dividing line? The divided line is the theory explained by Socrates in Book VI and is a continuation of the Sun metaphor from earlier in the text. In this metaphor Socrates wants to show a point of view on the states of mind in which we live, the physical world and that of shadows. One interpretation of this is that we as humans do not know something if all we know is based on shadows or images of it. A good example would be coaching an NFL football team: every fan thinks they can do a better job if given the opportunity, especially after a troubling loss. We call it a Monday morning quarterback, in fact it's true if the fans may seem like they know how to do the job, but that's not true. They are basing the decisions they would have made on the actions that occurred after the fact. Socrates said that the divided line has four subsections A) Intelligence B) Reason C) Belief D) Illusion. We fans of this division belong to sections C and D, we believe in the illusion that we can coach an NFL team much better than a man who has dedicated his life to the game and probably has to have real professional playing experience. The allegory of the cave is the example of Socrates continuing on the divided line theory by focusing on sections C) Belief and D) Illusion. He goes... middle of paper... people who want to know how to govern. For this to become true those who are kings must become philosophers because justice “is not concerned with external actions, but with man's inner self, his true concern and interest” (Plato, 443d). Justice is not the right of the strongest as Thrasymachus said, but the effective harmony of the whole community. I think what a person knows makes them a better person, because it is through education that society progresses. By making individuals better people, this will result in a better society as a whole, which should be the primary concern. Does education qualify him to govern? Absolutely yes; there is no way anything good can come out of an ignorant ruler. If the ruler does not understand the struggles of others, he cannot effectively govern any community, no matter how large or small it is.