n his dialogue THE REPUBLIC, Plato's character Socrates suggests the idea of the "philosopher-king." According to this idea, the philosopher-king knows the truth and doesnotbase his/her decisions solely on mere opinion. And so the idea of the philosopher-king is inherently anti-democraticat, least to some degree. However, this raises some interesting questions when it comes to the need for philosophical reasoning in a democracy.

Do you believe that an elected political leader in the legislature (law-making branch) of a democratic republic such as the United States (whether he/she may be a Senator or a Representative) should always vote according to the wishes of his/her constituents? In other words, should an elected legislative representative always look to the majority opinion of those who elected him/her in order to make decisions? Or should this representative, once elected, rely solely on his/her own reasoning and thereby vote according to his/her own rationality and conscience? Finally, can you think of a particular issue that, in your opinion, should be decided by a higher knowledgeable authority (whether Congress or the Supreme Court) rather than by "mere" majority opinion? Explain.