the soul

the nature and existence of the soul

plato

dualism of immaterial substance: soul and physical body

the flux and change of the empirical world of sense experience vs the perfection of the world of Forms (the world of perfect Ideas)

in the empirical world, all things decay, but for empirical objects, there exist metaphysical counterparts that do not decay or change

all things in the world are particular instances of universal Forms

despite the existence of different dog breeds, we can recognise that great danes, labradors, etc. are particular instances of the Form, dog

the Forms are eternal, perfect, timeless and metaphysical

the ultimate Form is the Form of the Good, because it defines all other Forms

while the physical body is part of the world of the senses, the mind is related to the higher reality of the Forms

only composite things can be destroyed or naturally disintegrate. while bodies are composite, souls are non-material and simple (without parts)- and therefore cannot be destroyed

once created, a soul is permanent and cannot die

the psyche (soul) is composed of three parts

the logical/thinking/reasoning part which seeks to learn the truth

thumos- the spirited part of the psyche

  • e.g. courage, righteous indignation, righteous anger, etc.

the appetitive part

  • the appetites for sex, food and drink

for plato: the soul is seperate from the body, but animates and directs it

aristotle

all living things have souls, and a creature's psyche is its