Plato on the need for expertise

“[Lysimachus] ‘I am asking you, Socrates, because it seems as if our council needs someone to act as umpire.’[Socrates] ‘What, Lysimachus? Do you intend to follow whatever course the majority of us recommends?’[Lysimachus] ‘Yes, what alternative is there, Socrates?’[Socrates] ‘Imagine there was some discussion about the kind of athletic training your son should practice: would you be influenced by the majority of us, or by the man who happened to have trained and exercised under a good coach. … I think that if a decision is to be made properly, then it must be made on the basis of knowledge and not numbers.’‘So, what we should do now, first of all, is consider whether we have among us an expert in the subject we’re discussing or not. If we have, we should take his advice and ignore other people; and if we haven’t, we should look for somebody else.’” (Laches, 184c-185a) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit figsinwinter.substack.com/subscribe