Justice in a person and a city › The Allegory of the Ship

To defend philosophers against the charge of uselessness, Socrates offers another allegory. Imagine a ship whose owner is larger and stronger than everyone else but somewhat deaf, shortsighted, and ignorant of navigation. The sailors quarrel over who should steer, though none has studied the art. They treat the trained navigator as a stargazer or useless talker. They disable the owner with drink or drugs, seize control, and feast on the ship's stores while praising anyone who helps them gain control as a skilled sailor. The true navigator, who understands winds, seasons, stars, and everything relevant to steering, is dismissed as useless because the sailors cannot recognize what real expertise looks like. This, Socrates says, is the situation of philosophers in existing cities. They appear useless not because philosophy is useless but because cities are badly governed and cannot recognize wisdom when they see it.