Ibn Rushd (Averroes): Epitome of Plato’s Republic

Ibn Rushd's commentary on Plato, called Epitome of Plato's Republic, is a work of political philosophy and combines Plato's ideas and Islamic tradition.  Plato's Republic is written as a dialogue, and Ibn Rushd wanted to extract all the substantive arguments from it.

Ibn Rushd seems to agree with the Platonic idea that there is objective truth out there. Remember that the Platonists saw Mathematics as the archetypal science. Something otherworldly and perfect. Plato thought that the truths of politics should be like the truths of mathematics, i.e. they could be proven, certain. We don't establish the truths of mathematics through votes or some form of democracy, we establish the truths of maths because there are great mathematicians making advances.

Ibn Rushd seems to apply similar principles to the government of a city. According to what he says, there does seem to be a best way to rule a city, a perfect collection of laws. 

Being Muslim, Ibn Rushd believed that this political truth was contained within the Quran, and so the ideal state is one based on the Islamic law (shariah). 

Like Plato, he thought that the state should be ruled by a philosopher-king: an imam, caliph and lawgiver of the state. Someone capable of finding that truth.

The philosopher-king should have a love of knowledge, a good memory, a love of learning, love of truth, dislike for sensual pleasures, dislike for amassing wealth, magnanimity, courage, steadfastness, eloquence and the ability to "light quickly on the middle term".

If philosophers cannot rule—as was the case in the Almoravid and Almohad empires around his lifetime—philosophers must still try to influence the rulers towards implementing the ideal state.

Some features of this perfect state according to Averroes

This ideal state relied upon the citizens being virtuous. He thought that there were two methods of teaching virtue to citizens; persuasion and coercion. Persuasion is better, but sometimes coercion is necessary for those not amenable to persuasion.

Therefore, war is justified as a last resort, which he also supports using Quranic arguments.

And therefore, a ruler should have both wisdom and courage, which are needed for governance and defence of the state.

Like Plato, Averroes calls for women to share with men in the administration of the state, including participating as soldiers, philosophers and rulers. He regrets that contemporaneous Muslim societies limited the public role of women; he says this limitation is harmful to the state's well-being.

He also agreed with Plato that the ideal state (i.e. one guided by a philosopher-king) could deteriorate into something bad. He gives examples from Islamic history: the Almoravid and the Almohad empires started as ideal, shariah-based states but then deteriorated into timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny.