It is not often that one invokes Greek philosopher Plato’s idea of the philosopher-ruler in modern politics. The concept, first proposed in his dialogue, the Republic, refers to a ruler who combines philosophical knowledge and temperament with political skill and power.

Plato saw philosophers as free from the venality that tempts others to abuse power, intellectually superior, and capable of applying their knowledge for the good of the state.

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is often held as an example. Later political commentators cite Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, and Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, as philosopher-rulers.

One would have thought Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his razor-sharp realpolitik and canny sense of power, was an unlikely candidate for the philosopher-ruler tag. But stretches from the three-hour podcast released by Lex Fridman on Sunday puts him squarely in that zone, whether it is him talking about fasting, the RSS, what holds India together, or Artificial Intelligence.

The prime minister copiously used metaphors, analogy, deductive and inductive reasoning, argumentation, and problem-solving approaches, which provided rare insights into his mind and worldview.

Take for instance how Modi described his own decision-making process. He said he draws from multiple sources of information, keeps........

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