Place of Persuasion and Imagination in Leadership in Farabi

Farabi has assigned to leaders certain tasks such as the administration, training, and coaching of people, spreading virtues and morality in cities and among nations and having people accustomed to such affairs, paving the ground for legislation and enforcing the laws through imparting their benefits to people, and familiarizing people with theoretical issues and political knowledge. In his conceptualization of all the skills required for leadership, Farabi considers imagination and contentment, as the products of two arts of poetry and sermon to be the necessary conditions. This point can be explained by resorting to the instrumental and communicative dimensions of imagination and persuasion. These two concepts can contribute to the perfection of the end of the first leader and help him perform his duties in both conceptual and judgmental dimensions. This is because the perceptual weakness of the majority of people usually does not allow them to understand anything unless in the light of imagination and persuasion. Therefore, through knowing his subjects, a leader should use the correct way of confronting and interacting with them while employing an appropriate language for all levels of perception.