Plato's Tripartite Soul: Rational, Irascible, and Appetitive
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Plato's Anthropology: The Soul and Body
The Platonic conception of man distinguishes between soul and body, but fundamentally believes that man is primarily his soul. For Plato, the soul is regarded as the highest part and can exist independently of the body.
The Myth of the Winged Chariot
This myth compares the soul to a winged chariot driven by an auriga (charioteer) and pulled by two horses:
- The White Horse: Symbolizes the positive human passions, such as courage and the noble aspects of anger and hope (the irascible part).
- The Black Horse: Symbolizes the negative, lower human desires (the concupiscible part), such as sexuality.
- The Auriga: Symbolizes the intellectual capacity of man, known as the rational part.
When the soul is guided by the black horse, the chariot loses direction and falls into the world of material things. The soul clings to something solid, takes on an earthly body, and becomes trapped and uncomfortable outside its natural element. The body is thus seen as a prison, and the soul's strongest desire is to return to its original world.
The Tripartite Division of the Soul
Plato indicates the psyche as a dynamic entity composed of three parts:
- Rational Soul: Immortal, intelligent, divine nature, located in the brain.
- Irascible Soul: The source of noble passions, located in the chest, and inseparable from the body.
- Appetitive Soul: Source of ignoble passions, located in the abdomen, and mortal.
Dualism and Immortality
Plato's theory is dualistic: the soul is partly immortal, and the rest is mortal and bound to the body. The similarity to the world of Ideas makes the immortality of the soul one of Plato's fundamental doctrines, constituting a new philosophy.
The Body as an Obstacle
The human body is considered an impediment (an estorbo) for the soul; it drags it down with its passions and prevents the contemplation of the Ideas. The best fate for the philosopher is to die, and philosophy itself is merely preparation for death.