Sovereign Form Of Soul Analysis

Since the beginning of time there have always been those men whose life’s purpose have been entirely to refine themselves to the utmost. Two questions present themselves here. What does it mean to be refined absolutely, and how exactly can one attain this refinement? Plato uses his knowledge of the universe and the examples set by Socrates in order to answer those very questions. In Plato’s Timaeus he describes “the most sovereign form of soul (Handout 114),” and more specifically , that Socrates is the closest example to this that he had. According to Plato, if someone realigns his sovereign form of soul with the universe, the he achieves immortality; Socrates realigned his sovereign from of soul, so Socrates achieved immortality. Plato gives an outline on how one can realign their soul with the universe. The theory is that “the most sovereign form of soul in us” was given to each person as a “guiding genius (Handout).” This

Socrates had refined his sovereign soul so much that Oracle of Delphi proclaimed him to be the wisest man. This is not to say that Socrates had attained the highest level of wisdom possible by mankind, but at least he is closer to returning his soul to true alignment than any other man. Socrates had already been studying all manner of sciences, for he must have had at least a basic knowledge to be able to deduce the wisdom of the teachers of athens, Gorgias of Leontium, Prodicus, of Ceos, and Hippias of Elis. Socrates even readily sourced Anaxagoras as a preacher of naturalism. He also engaged himself in the pursuit of higher order thoughts such as, what is wisdom? “What then can he (the oracle) mean when he says that I am the wisest of men ( Jowett pg. 3),” ruminated Socrates. This immediately set socrates on a quest for what wisdom truly is. Socrates was constantly tuning his intellectually soul, and this is what made him the wisest and most aligned