Plato’s Theories on the Immortal Soul

Plato was a famous Greek philosopher, dating back almost two and a half millennia. He was one of the first philosophers to question a systematic approach to creating the perfect society, requiring knowledge of human nature and the flaws it contains. He also was the first to experiment in democracy. Plato was a firm believer in the immortal soul. He theorized that the soul was divided into three parts: appetite, spirit, and reason. Reason, being the most important, should rule over the other two. In cases where spirit and appetite did rule over reason, Plato diagnosed that an imperfect society would be created, thus influencing individuals who contribute to the unjust society. The only way to fix this problem is for an elite group known as the Guardians to arise through education. The Guardians would be able to justly rule society without the greed for power, creating the perfect society. I, however, disagree with Plato’s theory, believing that everyone should have the equal opportunity to reach his or her potential, and that there is no perfect society.

Plato often argued that the soul was separated into three parts, also known as the Tripartite Theory. The first part of the soul identified by Plato is eros, also known as appetite. This is defined as the base of biological cravings for food, thirst, and sexual desire. The second part is nous or reason, which is the person’s knowledge. The final part is spirit or thumos and it includes a person’s passion, emotion and heart. These three parts were always present and influenced every decision made. An example that is used by the text is if a man is thirsty but thinks the water he was given is poisoned, he will not drink it. In order for him to come to this conclusion, there must be p...

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...lp it from not becoming power corrupt.

Plato often argued that the soul was comprised of three parts. Appetite, which is ones natural, desires; spirit, being ones emotions; reason, which is ones knowledge. It was this theory that leads him to the conclusion that the ruling of any part over reason would result in a corrupt society. The only way to solve this problem was through education, which would cause an elite sub-group to arise. This group would be suitable to receive higher education, allowing them to govern society. I strongly disagree with this prescription, believing that everyone should be given the equal opportunity to reach their potential and have a say in the way the society is run, creating a just society.

Works Cited

Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman and Peter Matthews Wright, Twelve Theories of Human Nature, (Oxford University Press, 2013), 89.