The sky of the wise

Plato’s sun from the Nietzsche’s stars

Abstract

Many thinkers have reflected on the celestial stars. With Plato and Nietzsche, they assume an allegorical position closely related to their philosophies. In The Republic, the sun represents the truth, on the one hand, becoming the symbol that drives the wise in their quest for knowledge; on the other hand, it also represents important aspects of the political and epistemological theory of Platonic philosophy. Millennia later, Nietzsche criticizes intensely Plato, diagnosing dogmatic aspects in their thinking. Against this, the Nietzschean stars assume a diverse sky, whose stars represent an incredible moral variety existing among human beings. But the modern philosopher does not oppose the Platonic philosophy simply and fully. By this we intend to demonstrate that Plato's sun and Nietzschean stars serve as allegories to synthesize fundamental points in the philosophical conception of such thinkers; but they also help us to highlight the complexity of Nietzsche's interpretation of Platonic philosophy.