Question: One cannot artificially create a philosopher, yet he is essential for philosophical sovereignty. What might prompt the state to realize that philosophy is necessary and create conditions for his emergence?
Alexander Dugin: Perhaps when we reach dead ends so intractable that no familiar means can resolve them — then, perhaps, the state will turn to a philosopher. At first, it will summon everyone in sight, producing much confusion and noise. But eventually, amid this heap of false starts, power might by miracle stumble upon something genuine. The paradox is that only another philosopher can discern who truly is a philosopher. It is like in alchemy: to obtain gold, one must already possess gold. Only a philosopher can recognize another philosopher — as distinct from a charlatan who has merely learned to utter clever words.
A philosopher is one for whom truth is more precious than anything. He is willing to bear witness against himself for the sake of truth and renounce all else. Recall Diogenes’ dialogue with Alexander the Great. When asked, “What do you want, philosopher?” he replied: “Do not block my sun.” If, in the eyes of one who claims to be a philosopher, you glimpse self-interest or predation — the desire to become an institute director, for instance — then he is no philosopher.
How, then, can one recognize a philosopher? It is very difficult, but there are indirect signs. Those too comfortable in this world, too well adjusted to its routines, are unlikely to be philosophers. The philosopher feels a pull out of the cave where others dwell content, mistaking shadows and illusions for ultimate truth.
The philosopher must feel a certain unease, a yearning that drives him to resolve the dissatisfaction he feels toward this world. Otherwise, there will be no attraction toward the world of ideas, no philosophical path of ascent, no movement toward the horizons of contemplation.
Read the full interview here:
https://www.multipolarpress.com/p/philosophical-sovereignty
