Body and Soul: Plato

Plato's Understanding of the Soul and the Body

• Constantly contrasted things - world of appearances/realm of forms, light/dark, body and soul
• Body is material and of the world of appearances
• Soul is immaterial and from the world of forms
• 'The body is a source of endless trouble for the soul' (Plato) - Needs food, susceptible to desease and stops soul from gaining knowledge of the forms
• Philosophers have to break away from the body to gain a knowledge of the forms
• As the soul is from the world of the forms, it is why we recognise 'forms' in this worlds such as beauty, love and goodness
• The soul is eternal from the World of Forms and at death will be reincarnated or will live on in the realm of the forms - BUT what is the point to life then?

Plato's Soul

• Uses the analogy of the charioteer to explain the three aspects of the soul (not three parts,…