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A 5 page research paper that examines Plato's philosophical stance on the soul and how he considered the soul to be composed of three parts. The writer discusses this model for the soul and its ramifications. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khplsoul.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
that Socrates was an agnostic regarding the immortality of the soul ("Apology" 51). However, it was in his work The Republic, Book IV that Plato began to discuss his opinions
in detail, specifically, that the soul is composed of three parts ("The Republic" 35). According to Honderich, these three parts roughly correspond to reason, emotion and desire (684).
However, in Republic VIII-IX, the "reasoning" part is associated with the desire for knowledge, the "spirited" part with the desire for honor and prestige, and the "desiring" part, which is
recognized as being "many headed" - is clearly confined to bodily desires (Honderich 684). In the disordered soul, there is conflict between the various parts. Sometimes, a certain portion
of the soul will unite with another against the third, in a manner that Plato finds analogous to factions within the state. Similarly, Plato believes that, as in a well-ordered
state, in the harmonious soul, the whole is ruled by the highest principle. This is the guardians in regards to the state and reason in regards to the soul. Therefore,
just as the appetites ought to obey reason in the soul, so, too, in the macrocosm, individuals should obey the wisdom of the state. Plato argued that when an
individual is just it is because each part of his or her soul performs its functions properly and does not interfere with the other elements that compose the whole (Bhandarei
PG). For example, reason should have rule over the entire soul, as it utilizes wisdom and forethought. The role of the spirit is subordinate to the rule of reason (Plato
"The Republic" 36). Plato felt that these two elements could be brought into harmony with each other through a combination of mental and bodily training. "The just man does not
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