Chapters 11 - 15 Summary and Analysis

Great accomplishments and behaviors require Folly and those who accompany her. No great tasks are taken up, no inventions created without folly. War requires folly as well, since war is so very destructive. And military skill and planning requires folly often because those who play in war are fools and have no wisdom. Philosophers themselves are unfit to manage common affairs, which is easily illustrated with Socrates, who while wise, could not manage the people of Athens. They killed him after all.

This includes war, which is foolish in itself and military skill, which needs no philosophical knowledge. Further, philosophers and wisdom seekers are not fit to manage important matters. Socrates and Plato are examples. It is no response to argue that Plato's philosopher-king is fit, for he has not been effective - the Cato's and others weren't effective...