Hello everyone, my name is Demizmue, and this
is my assistant, the Foot. Today we’ll talk about Plato’s theory of the soul. Last time we
discussed Plato’s understanding of knowledge, showing different types of objects that can be
known, and levels of knowing. Now we turn to the knower itself – the soul. If you like this
video, please subscribe and leave a like!
The soul in Plato is the answer to the
question – who acquires knowledge. All of us are endowed with a soul. But just like
with the objects of knowledge and the types of knowing, there is a hierarchy of souls
depending on their level of enlightenment. First of all, the soul is distinguished from the
body and indeed, the soul both precedes the body and outlives it. Plato believed that the soul
was immortal, that it becomes imprisoned in the human body and that it gets reincarnated into
another body after death. Depending on your level of knowledge, your soul will get reincarnated
into different kinds of living beings. If your soul does not get a high enough score on
the knowledge level during your lifetime, in other words, if you do not acquire knowledge, you might
get reincarnated as an animal – you had let your body decide your life, so according to Plato, your
soul fits better into a body of an animal. But if you learn and acquire enlightenment, you will yet
again be reincarnated into a knowledgeable human. Remember, the soul, being immortal,
traversed the world of Forms already. So, it knows everything already, the only question
is – will you remember this knowledge during your life…or will you let everything remain
forgotten. The more you forget and go further from the Forms during your lifetime, the closer
your soul will be to that of the animals. So, after death, you don’t get sent to heaven or hell
– you remain on Earth, changing only your body!
But how are souls judged? Well, according to
Plato, the soul is composed of three parts! Why did Plato think this? He observed that it
is possible to desire something and at the same time show opposition to this desire. For example,
if you drink beer and want to continue drinking, but then you say to yourself – let’s slow
it down, you would still want to drink more, but are sober enough to not go overboard. So
Plato reasoned, the same thing can hardly do two opposing things if it were just one – therefore,
the thing in question, the soul, is not one! It obviously has at least two parts.
The first part which wants something is the desiring one, which Plato calls the appetitive
part! This is the part that simply desires all kinds of things, the part that drives you
toward something, whether it is drink, food, money, pleasure, or something else. The second
part however is the one that says – wait! Let’s think this through! This is of course reason,
the part which takes consequences into account, the part that examines and argues, the part
that analyses and decides what is best to do. So, desire on the one hand, reason on the other.
Plato represents the soul in the image of a flying chariot to explain this. The Soul is a chariot in
the skies. Reason is the charioteer, the one who leads and gives direction, whereas the appetitive
part is represented by a winged horse, a dark horse, one that chases blindly behind whatever it
finds desirable. The dark horse is a wild, untamed animal and reason must exert its power over it.
The dark horse leads you to drink more beer, but the charioteer says – no, you had enough!
But there is also a third part of the soul. Plato calls this the spirited part. The spirited
part of the soul signifies higher emotions, not low desires like the dark horse, but the nobler
emotions such as anger at injustice, courage, indignation against evil and the desire to
overcome challenges. And this part is represented by a winged white horse. The term “spirited part
of the soul” would then mean like a high-spirited, noble horse, filled with energy and
determination! This horse always listens to reason and is flying in the direction
given by it. It is a tamed, noble animal.
Plato also gives another image to represent
the three parts of the soul. Reason is in the head - it is the part that thinks. The
spirited part of the soul is in the heart, where courage and determination reside.
The appetitive part is like the belly, always wanting something! And like every body, every soul is composed of these three parts, meaning every human has all three. What
kind of a person you end up being is dependent on how these three parts of the soul interact with
one another. More precisely, it is determined by which part of the soul is the dominant one.
Plato gives the example of love to explain this. There are different types of love depending
on which part of the soul dominates. The most immediate and natural type of love is
of course the bodily love, you are attracted to someone and you are driven by your sexual desire.
The dark horse is predominant here and if we let him continually fly on his way, it will not fly
high, but remain close to the material realm, sexual love will prevail. For Plato, this
kind of love will remain only the love of the body – no more. But if the charioteer
steers the white horse firmly and the two manage to subdue the dark horse, leading
it toward greater hights, the desire for the body can be diverted to something more.
– the love of knowledge. And here the charioteer fully controls both horses, leading them in
the same direction, toward greatest hights, away from the material realm and toward the
world of Forms. The first love of the body, guided by the dark horse is transformed by
the charioteer – reason –with the help of the white horse – spiritedness – overcoming
challenges and reaching a love of knowledge, the love of wisdom, which is what the word
philosophy means. The soul will not be driven just by the desire for earthly beauty, it will fly
high and remember the Form of Beauty itself. So, the relationship of bodily love between the
two partners, their primordial desire for the body of the other, will be turned toward
a mutual love of knowledge and learning! Of learning from one another. But see here – this means that the dark is also important,
although on its own it might lead us astray, it is still the energy, the primordial
drive, without which we would desire nothing. It only needs good direction.
Whichever part of the soul dominates in you, whether it is reason, spiritedness and the higher
emotions, or mere desires, this is the kind of person that you will be. And in the end, after you
die, your soul will leave your body and be judged – sending it either into an animal body, which
is more fit for a soul driven by mere desires, or toward a body of a lover of knowledge.
In the next video, we’ll see how this theory of the soul and its division into three parts is reflected and used in Plato’s political philosophy. Thank you very much and until next time!
