The Value of the Soul
More than two millennia have passed, and Thrasymachus’s challenge to Plato still remains intact.[1] Truly, in order to better understand this issue, I would have to seek an answer to the ancient questions: “where do humans come from? Why are we born into this world?” It may remain doubtful as to how these questions will be able to shed some lights on the issue, but clearly, these questions will require me to carefully examine what the true path to happiness is, according to an ancient Greek thinker like Plato. Achieving this task is certainly not easy. Fortunately, in Timaeus and Phaedo, Plato offers a solution, by introducing the idea of the “world-soul” and the “human-soul.” Only when one directs his or her soul to the “world-soul” can he or she find the true valuable possessions in life: “Now we ought to think of the most sovereign part of our soul as god’s gift to us, given to be our guiding spirit. This, of course, is the type of soul that, as we maintain, resides in the top part of our bodies. It raises us up away from the earth and toward what is akin to us in heaven ...” (Plato, Tim. 90a). Therefore, I begin with an investigation into the nature of the “world-soul,” followed by an examination of the “human-soul” and finally, I will discuss the linkage between the two souls and the function of the “world-soul” vis-à-vis knowledge, order and rule. Clearly, only when a linkage between the two souls is established that one can seek the true path to happiness in life.
The idea of how the world-soul is formulated is first introduced in the middle of a long speech delivered by Timaeus in a book that borrows his name:
In between Being that is indivisible and always changeless, and the one that is divisible and comes to be in the corporeal realm, he mixed a third, intermediate form of being, derived from the other two. And he took the three mixtures of the Same, and the one of the Different, in between their indivisible and their corporeal, divisible counter parts. And he took the three mixtures and mixed them together to make a uniform mixture, forcing the Different, which was hard to mix, into conformity with the Same. (35ab)
Here, the “world-soul” is vividly described as consisting of three elements: indivisible being, divisible being and an intermediate form between the two. It is also important to see that the “indivisible being” Plato describes is no doubt an essential feature of the Form, and which is heavily influenced by a Parmenidian idea: “There is the way that it is and it cannot not be” (Waterfield, Par. 58 F3). Thus, an important feature of the “indivisible being” is its entirety and eternality. However, Plato does not back up or shy away from clearly stating that we all participate in being, which is a central characteristic of his Theory of Form. Next, Plato points out an important condition for knowledge, which is a characteristic of the “world-soul:”
... because it [the world-soul] is divided up and bound together in various proportions [of Same, Different and the intermediary], and because it circles round upon itself, then, whenever it comes into contact with something whose being is scatterable or else with something whose being is indivisible, it is stirred throughout it whole self. It then declares what exact that thing is the same as, or what it is different from, and in what respect and in what manner, as well as when, it turns out that they are the same or different and are characterized as such. (Plato, Tim. 37ab)
Here the “world-soul” expresses in itself the urge to sort out disorder, which can also be interpreted as a desire for knowledge. This portrayal is reinforced by an earlier passage: “The god wanted everything to be good and nothing to be bad so far as that was possible, and so he took over all that was visible—not at rest but in discordant and disorderly motion—and brought it from a state of disorder to one of order, because he believed that order was in every way better than disorder” (30a). So far, I have pointed out that the “world-soul” is eternal, indivisible and possesses the ability as well as the urge to seek order out of disorder.
This important description of the “world-soul” should be kept in mind as I examine the nature of the “human-soul,” and how the two souls come together in harmony: “When he [the Demiurge] had finished this speech, he turned again to the mixing bowl he had used before, the one in which he had blended and mixed the soul of the universe. He began to pour into it what remained of the previous ingredients and to mix them in somewhat the same way, though these were no longer invariably and constantly pure , but of a second and third grade of purity” (41d). Here Plato suggests that clearly even the human soul, which is the purest part of us, is flawed right at the beginning of its creation, characterized by the impure ingredients in the mixing bowl. These impure portions are what differ between mortality and immortality, as I will examine later.
The following passage also reinforces this idea: “ ... And so when certain sensations come in from outside and attack them, they sweep the soul’s entire vessel along with them. It is then that these revolutions, however much in control they seem to be, are actually under their control. All these disturbances are no doubt the reason why even today and not only at the beginning, whenever a soul is bound within a mortal body, it at first lacks intelligence” (44a). Clearly, this idea can be easily understood by the Platonic principle of the Tripartite Soul, which includes the appetitive soul, the spirited soul and the rational soul. Governed by sensations, the appetitive soul drives human’s thirst for material benefits, including food, money, sex, etc. Without proper constraints from the rational soul, the appetitive soul will eventually lead human to a path of self-destruction. This explains the irrationality and the constant struggle between the “have-s” and “have-nots” I have described right at the beginning. Recalling from earlier that the “world-soul” itself consists of the ability to reason and to grasp intelligence, it is clear this is where Plato points out the major discrepancy between the “world-soul” and the “human-soul.”
Thus, in order to conform to the “world-soul,” Plato suggests a disciplined path of reintegrating with the “world-soul”:
And to the extent that is fitting for them to possess something that shares our names of ‘immortal,’ something described as divine and ruling within those of them who always consent to follow after justice and after you, I shall begin by sowing that seed, and then hand it over to you. The rest of the task is yours. Weave what is mortal to what is immortal, fashion and beget living things. Give them food, cause them to grow, and when they perish, receive them back again. (41cd)
It is worth noting that even though this seems to be a daunting task, Plato does not suggest that this path is impossible, as the god has clearly instructed that human souls can be “received back again.” Here, it is important to make a clear distinction that only the immortal part will be welcomed back to the land of the god, as the mortal part will “perish.” This immortal part is nothing but the soul, as proven earlier when examining the different characteristics of the soul. Recalling earlier with the passage about the mixing bowl, the god will Therefore, after examining the nature of the “world-soul” and the “human-soul,” the last task left is to examine the possibility to “raise us up way from the earth and toward what is akin to us in heaven” (90a). This is when arguably the most important of all the Platonic principles, or the role of education and the love of wisdom, comes into play:
So if a man has become absorbed in his appetites or his ambitions and takes great pains to further them, all his thoughts are bound to become merely mortal ... On the other hand, if a man has seriously devoted himself to the love of learning and to true wisdom, if he has exercised these aspects of himself above all, then there is absolutely no way that his thoughts can fail to be immortal and divine, should truth come within his grasp. (90b, emphasis added)
Thus, even though thrown off course right at the beginning of our birth (44a), this passage shows that there is truly a way that we can turn and direct out souls to that of the “world-soul,” and this is the one path everyone should seek for, as this is the only guaranteed path of securing “immortality.” However, there remains a last question I have to answer: “what is the function of the world-soul vis-à-vis knowledge?” Only when successfully solve this puzzle, can I fully explain the true path that Plato suggests. In order to achieve this task, I will examine a passage in Phaedo: “One he [Anaxagoras] had given the best of each as the cause for each and the general cause of all, I thought he would go on to explain the common good for all ... This wonderful hope was dashed as I went on reading and saw that the man made no use of Mind, nor gave it any responsibility for the management of things ...” (Pha. 98b). Here, Plato expresses his disappointment in Anaxagoras’s reasoning, as he falls short of explaining a sufficiently final cause, by only supporting the material cause. Next, Plato explains that there exists a metaphysical final cause: “I assume the existence of a Beautiful, itself by itself, of a Good and a Great and all the rest. If you grant me these and agree that they exist, I hope to show you the cause as a result, and to find the soul to be immortal” (100b). Finally, he points out how this final cause can only be achieved by acquiring knowledge: “ ... for the soul goes to the underworld possessing nothing but its education and upbringing, which are said to bring the greatest benefit or harm to the dead right at the beginning of the journey yonder” (107d). Thus, I have shown that according to the Platonic principles, there exists a final cause, in the form of Beauty or Good, and that the only path to this cause is through purification, which is a separation of the soul and the body (67c). Since the body is incapable of possessing or exercising knowledge (65b), the only path is to nourish the rational soul with proper education. Thus, it is conclusive that in order to be harmonic with the “world-soul,” the “human-soul” must seek a disciplined pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, which eventually will bring about order in this chaotic world.
After all, since ancient times, human beings have an urge to seek honor that would last forever, for we believe this is a path of being immortal and god-like. As a result, thousands of human lives were traded for the creation of the Great Wall of China, or the pyramids of Egypt. Plato points out in Symposium that this is sadly human nature: “Look, if you will, at how human beings seek honor. You’d [Socrates] be amazed at their irrationality, if you didn’t have in mind what I [Diotima] spoke about and if you hadn’t pondered the awful state of love they’re in, wanting to become famous and ‘to lay up glory immortal forever ... ” (Sym. 208c). Today, human’s love for honor and immortality exists in a different form, through the accumulation of wealth and power. Unfortunately, according to Plato, there cannot be a more distant and confused path to immortality than this love of honor. The true path, as I have examined, is to harmonize the “human-soul,” which is flawed and impure, and the “world-soul,” which is the only eternal being that can sort out orders from disorders, through proper education and love of wisdom. In the end, will an individual choose to be a wealthy corporate titan that is forever remembered as a greedy and selfish being or to be someone like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, whose only achievements were to simply refuse to obey the injustice of the society, but as a result, pushing human’s social evolution into a whole new different chapter?[2]
“I pledge my honor that I have neither received nor provided unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
Works Cited
Plato. Timaeus. Trans. Donald J. Zeyl. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1997. 1292 - 1306. Print.
———. Phaedo. Trans. G.M.A Grube. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1997. 49 - 100. Print.
———. Symposium. Trans. Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1997. 457 - 505. Print.
Waterfield, Robin, trans. Parmenides of Elea. The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 49 – 68. Print.
[1] In The Republic, Thrasymachus points out to that power lies in those who possess immense wealth and political influence. Later, Plato defeats Thrasymachus by proving that wealth or political influence only satisfy human’s bodily desires, which the lowest part in a human soul. This is a relevant issue since the “Occupying Wall Street” movement’s primary objective is to fight against income inequality and very often, this is caused by greed and injustice by a minority group in the society.
[2] The author would like to express his utmost appreciation towards Professor Ronald Waite for his assistance during the completion of this work.
