Philosopher kings are the rulers, or Guardians, of Plato’s Utopian Kallipolis. If his ideal city- state is to ever come into being, “philosophers become kings… or those now called kings… genuinely and adequately philosophize”.
Plato defined a philosopher firstly as its eponymous occupation-wisdom-lover. He then distinguishes between one who loves true knowledge as opposed to simple sights or education by saying that the philosopher is the only person who has access to Forms-the archetypal entities that exist behind all representations of the form.
It is next and in support of the idea that philosophers are the best rulers that Plato fashions the ship of state metaphor, one of his most often cited ideas. A true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship. Plato claims that the sailors ignore the philosopher’s “idle stargazing” because they have never encountered a true philosopher before.