At the opening of Book IV, Plato describes the virtues of a true philosopher; he seeks truth and wisdom, while rejecting the unrighteous. Upon Adeimantus's insistence that philosophers are not as Socrates describes them, but rather useless, Plato offers a metaphor in which a ship is piloted by an incapable captain, lacking any knowledge of navigation. The captain's inability to sail gives rise to mutinous sailors, seeking to overthrow their current pilot and take control of the ship. Despite their undeniable lack of knowledge of seamanship, each asserts that he is better than the others and takes it upon himself to compete for the helm of the ship. Amidst the chaos on the deck lies a man indifferent to the sailors' quarrels, who focuses only on the stars above. To be a competent pilot on a ship, it is imperative to have knowledge of the craft of navigation. Thus, the man who observes the seasons and the sky understands what is necessary to maneuver a ship, which makes him the most competent pilot. In Plato's analogy, it is the philosopher. He does not concern himself with the mutiny of the fellow sailors, who represent the governors of Athens; rather, he applies his navigation skills to the situation that, coincidentally, requires a navigator. However, in the eyes of sailors, stargazing is considered a flaw, a useless skill. The sailors aboard the ship of state are stuck in the first segment of Plato's metaphorical line of wisdom, because they see only shadows. They cannot progress to the higher segments of the line, because their passions and desires, such as the desire to control the ship, have led them astray. Unlike the image of the ideal philosopher stated by Plato, the sailors' logo does not control their...... middle of paper ......distinguish one thing from another, lack of passion for these characteristics creates a feeling of divergence. For example, the virtue of a shoemaker would be, at least in the eyes of outside observers, to create shoes for city dwellers. However, if the shoemaker is passionate about mathematics, this conflict between passion and observed virtue could prevent him from living truly well. This, in turn, would make him less useful as a person to society, at least in Plato's eyes. As a result, I really see living well by letting your passions for education in a specific subject propel your advancement in that subject. This view goes slightly against the Platonic view of education, as Plato could argue that for a man to become truly educated, he must ignore all passions and concentrate on all forms of education , instead of focusing on a single path..