What is Plato's notion of a soul?

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Greeks started to wonder about the living things and their connection with the divine. Many philosophers had different beliefs towards the connection between body, soul and divine. Plato was the first man to ask about the existence of the soul and he came to the conclusion that the soul and the body are complementary, yet absolutely different from each other. The soul is the organ that connects the body and the divine. The body is an instrument of perception to the soul. The body without the soul is just a corpse. Plato’s claim that a person should not be judged for their gender, that the gender of the body that the soul inhabits has no effect on the ultimate purpose. The soul is immateriality and immortality according to Plato. Plato gives three arguments regarding the soul: the cyclical process of the soul, the post-existence, pre-existence and the soul not composed of parts. Plato also names three areas to the soul: the appetites, the spirited and the mind.

The soul is the battery to the body; the soul allows the body to be a living thing. The soul is the spark that sets fire to the body. The body acquires life, emotion, senses and intelligence with the fusion of the soul. Plato believes that the soul is not composed of parts that can be decomposed or destroyed. When the body dies, the soul is separated from the body and travels to the invisible realm keeping all the knowledge acquired. For Plato, death is a good thing because it sets the soul free. The soul becomes it is truly self; pure, full of wisdom, good, and beautiful. However, when the soul introduces a new body the soul forgets its knowledge, but over time the soul recollects memories by learning. Plato proves this theory when, “In reference to an uneducated slave b...

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...ny form of body from a human to an animal, however; Plato explained that animals did not have the capability to recollect past memory nor had the ability to reason. In the form of an animal and if the soul is ultimate goal is to find justice, how can the soul find it without previous knowledge?

Works Cited

Cuizon, Gwen. "Is Plato a Feminist?" (2010): n. page. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

Therese. "Plato’s Theory of the Existence of the Soul." (2009): n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. .

Republic . "Republic." (2002): 54. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

Garside, Christine. "Plato on Women." Feminist Studies. 2. (1975): n. page. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

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