Plato's Concept of the Body and Soul Distinction

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Plato's Concept of the Body and Soul Distinction

A:Plato believed that humans could be broken down into 3 parts: the

body, the mind and the soul. The body is the physical part of the body

that is only concerned with the material world, and through which we

are able to experience the world we live in. it wants to experience

self-gratification. It is mortal, and when it dies, it is truly dead.

The mind is directed towards the heavenly realm of Ideas, and is

immortal. It is with our minds that we are able to understand the

eternal world of the Forms. When it 'dies' it returns to the realm of

Ideas. The soul is the driving force of the body, that it is what

gives us our identity.

Plato likens the soul as a chariot rider, guiding and guided by two

horses, courage (representing the transcendent dignity of the mind)

and desire (representing the physical body which drags us down). He

says that the soul is 'trapped' between the body and the mind, and is

only after death that it becomes 'freed' to rejoin the eternal world

of...

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