Abstract
In Republic VI, Plato claims that philosophers have as part of their nature a string of qualities including truthfulness, temperance, courage, justice, and mental agility. But is he talking about the qualities of a fully formed philosopher, or about those required earlier on in life if one is to become such a philosopher? This paper argues for a version of the latter view: when he talks about the natural qualities of a philosopher, he is thinking of an unusually talented adolescent, characterized by an intense love of truth and a string of associated moral qualities, which nonetheless fall short of the perfect virtues found in the mature philosopher. The paper also explains how these different qualities are related to one another, and in what sense Plato considers them to be natural.
