PLATO'S TRIPARTITE THEORY OF THE SOUL

Plato believes that our soul is divided into

three main components that are collectively
known as tripartite and these are:
The appetitive part of the soul is the one
that is accountable for the desires in people. It is
accountable for the effortless cravings required to
stay alive like hunger, thirst, and for pointless
cravings like desire to over feed. The desires for
essential things should be limited by other
sections of the soul, while illegitimate desires
ought to be limited entirely by other elements of
soul.
The rational soul on the other hand is the
thinking element in every human being, which
decided what is factual and merely obvious,
judges what is factual and what is untrue, and
intelligently makes sensible decisions.
Finally, the spirited soul produces the
desires that love victory and honor. In the just
soul, the spirit acts as an implementer of the
rational soul, making sure that the rules of reason
are adhered to. Emotions like indignation and
anger are the impact of the disappointment of the spirit. Someone might respond to the claim
that the soul comprises of three parts.
Plato came up to this theory because of the uncertainty happened on his life. One of this
was his experience on the Trial of Socrates who was his teacher and the gate-keeper for him to
the philosophy world. This happened because Socrates was being accused of impiety and
corruption to the youths' mind. After several trials, Socrates was found guilty and his punishment
was death penalty through drinking poison. This happenings strengthen the belief of Plato
regards to the Logical Soul where the rulers of Athens were driven by wisdom.
The next life experience of Plato was about the invasion of the Thracian Empire. Plato
believes that these people had a strong Spirited Soul. Thracians were high tempered and this
attitude were they used to triumph on every battle they have encountered.
And lastly, Plato's 13 years of studying at Egypt. He have witnessed there the culture of
Egyptians. Plato described ancient Egyptians as money maker that is a quality of being a
Appetitive Soul dominant. Aside from it, Egyptians were so much connected with cosmetics, food,
drinks, clothings, and many more stuffs that satisfy their desires.
But among all, no one get the ultimate goal, the true happiness. Because all of them
ended up as failure. The Athenian ruler failed to attain a proper judgement for Socrates. The
Thracian Empire despite of their attained power they was still being defeated by the Macedonian
Empire. The same with Egyptians, no matter how many expensive stuffs they have, they can not
still fulfill the desires of their bodies. Because according to Plato, to gain true happiness in life
and have an eternal life, the three components of the soul must work in harmony. It would be
like a chariot being driven by two horses. Each of them has a vital role for the success of its
movement, but at least one lacks attention or focus, the movement will go wrong and will cause
bad thing.

LAZARO, JASON B.
BSA - BHA