Plato

Concept of body / soul distinction (directly related to his two realms theory)

The ‘psyche’ – Greek – translated to mean ‘soul’ but may more accurately refer to ‘life-principle’.

Religion - Plato’s ideas about the body and soul have been adopted by

Christianity

which does not have explicit teaching on such duality in the Bible.

Who am I?

• BODY Temporary and material. Distracting. Receives sensory information about the world and is drawn to worldly and sensory matters.

• MIND Immaterial. Capable of knowing eternal truths beyond the world and drawn to the ‘heavenly’ realm of ideas (Forms).

• SOUL Immortal and immaterial. Belongs to a higher level of reality. A directing force caught between the two opposing forces; trying to steer but trapped in the prison of a body.

‘I’ am the soul

; because that is the thing that continues after the death of the body. It is our essence.

The soul as three parts, battling for supremacy

– ‘The Chariot simile’ Imagine the soul as a chariot with a charioteer and two winged horses, one white, one black. These represent the three parts of the soul; • Charioteer = rational part /

reason

• White horse = courage / will / spirit / energy /

emotion

• Black horse = appetites / greed / craving /

desire Psychology:

Plato explores ideas about the struggle between different parts of our psyche.

The soul and knowledge

• When the soul enters our bodies, so does intelligence. • Knowledge is the recollection of our encounters with the Forms, or realm of ideas, before our souls entered our bodies.

• So we should look within our souls for knowledge • Soul aspires to break free from its prison to dwell in the realm of ideas where it can contemplate such objects of knowledge as truth, beauty and the good.

Katharsis (Catharsis)

Process of practicing acts of purification to become aware of delusions involving material gain and sensory pleasure, thus refocus the mind on mental pursuits and the soul, rather than the distractions of the body and nearing the realm of Forms

Life after death

As mentioned, the soul is immortal and continues after the death of the earthly body as pure intellect, where it is free to dwell in the ‘heavenly’ realm of ideas / Forms.

• Socrates on death; In Plato’s work

Phaedo

Socrates talks of looking forward to death because it marks an escape from the transient, unreal and distracting world of the body in favour of the realm of pure thought.

Reincarnation;

Immorality in one life leads to an unfavourable rebirth in the next life for the soul and vice versa.

Comprehension Tasks: Use power point information & Foundation text handout

Write in full and use the indicated headings

1. Brainstorm or bullet point the Nature of the Soul according to Plato, highlighting it’s key qualities – uses sketches if you want. e.g., the three parts.

2. Clearly describe the Relationship (‘battle’) between the body and the soul. Giving examples.

3. Explain How the soul is connected to the concept of Forms (include reference to knowledge, afterlife and the aim of the soul)