Plato’s Philosophy: Soul, Knowledge, and Reality
Alma
Plato interprets the soul in two primary senses: as the enabler of vital activities, and, in humans, as the divine and immortal principle enabling knowledge and the good life. Through science and good deeds, the soul connects us to the divine and grants us an immortal destiny.
Concupiscible Soul
This mortal part of the human soul is responsible for passions, pleasures, and sensitive desires. In the “Myth of the Winged Chariot,” it’s the unruly horse, drawing the chariot towards the world of senses. Connected to the body and its pleasures, it perishes upon death. It resides in the abdomen (liver).
Irascible Soul
This part houses will and courage. In the “Myth of the Winged Chariot,” it’s the good horse, aiding the charioteer in following the gods to the world of Ideas and the contemplation of the Good. Plato doesn’t explicitly address its mortality or immortality. It resides in the chest.
Rational Soul
This immortal and divine part enables knowledge and the good life. In the “Myth of the Winged Chariot,” it is the charioteer. Identified with reason, it empowers us to pursue knowledge, justice, and right action. It resides in the head.
Similarly
In most contexts, this term has no added semantic value, equivalent to “in the same way.” An example of analogy of proportionality, requiring four terms, is: Ideas are to the Intelligible World as sensible things are to the world.
Science (or Episteme)
Perfect knowledge, based on the World of Ideas, achieved through reason. Plato distinguishes between episteme (science) and doxa (opinion). Science is further divided into philosophy/dialectic and discursive thought. For Plato, science was knowledge of the absolute, the task of reason.
Cognoscible
Capable of being known. Ideas are cognoscible because they reflect the truth emanating from the Idea of the Good.
Conjecture (Eikasía)
Sensitive knowledge based on perceiving shadows and reflections. Along with belief, it constitutes doxa (opinion).
Things Above
In the Allegory of the Cave, this refers to the world outside the cave. Plato’s symbolic language equates “Things Above” with the Ideas.
Belief (Pístis)
Knowledge based on the direct perception of sensible things. Along with conjecture, it constitutes doxa (opinion).
Demiurge
The divine being who produces the universe. By observing the Ideas as models, the Demiurge attempts to translate them into the physical realm.
Dialectic
Dialectic, or science in the strict sense, is the sound knowledge of Ideas and their relationships, especially the Idea of the Good. It is Plato’s method for accessing the World of Ideas. Characteristics:
- Cognitive activity, exercising reason.
- Object is the Intelligible World and the relations of Ideas.
- Ultimate aim is knowledge of the Idea of the Good.
- Not based on perception.
- Accepts no hypotheses; seeks the deepest reason for each subject.
Itself
Preceded by a capitalized term (e.g., “Beauty Itself,” “Justice Itself”), it signifies an absolute value. Plato refers not to beautiful or just things, but to the Ideas of Beauty and Justice themselves.
Episteme
Greek for “knowledge,” often translated as “science.” For Plato, true knowledge (episteme) concerns the immutable reality of Ideas, contrasting with doxa (opinion), knowledge of the sensible realm.
Rugged and Steep Slope
The challenging path of the escaped prisoner (representing the educational process) towards knowledge, often misunderstood.
Essence
Ideas are the essences of things, though separate from them. All beautiful things participate in the Idea of Beauty, all true things in the Idea of Truth. The Idea of the Good is the source of the essence of other Ideas.
Genesis
Genesis and corruption are processes of becoming. In The Republic, Book VI, Plato uses this concept to refer to the sensible world, where change is constant. The sun causes genesis (growth and nutrition) in visible things, just as the Idea of the Good produces the essence of Ideas.