The Republic, By Plato

If placed against each other in a poll, rationality would reign victorious over enthusiasm and desire in today’s modern world. In Plato's book, The Republic, Plato discusses his theory of the tripartite soul made up of three parts: reason, spirit, and desire. Throughout books four and five, Plato emphasizes the intelligent and sophisticated nature of reason. He does this by examining real-world counterexamples, such as a man’s deliberation in satisfying his thirst. As Plato highlights the breadth of reason, including the possession of decision-making, formulating opinions, and having insight, he simultaneously emphasizes reason’s dependency on spirit- saying that spirit provides a motive for the soul to carry out decisions made by the rational part. In addition, Plato defines the appetitive and rational parts of the soul very easily, as the spirited realm is not defined until human will, honor, and indignation is questioned to where they belong. While Plato places rationality on a higher tier than spirit or desire, I pose the question, would rationality alone grant an individual survival in the real world? I argue that the reasoning and desiring

While discussing the relationship of spirit and reason, Plato says that reason will carry out its part, while spirit provides reason with "the courage to carry its decision into effect" (151). Reason's codependency on spirit highlights its need for spirit's courage, more than just indignation, and it's effect. Plato thus far has identified that spirit is the realm, which expresses anger, but also motivation, courage, and, like the auxiliaries, love and pride. Based on Plato's insight on reason, reason would not be able to apply its decision-making or rational skills to the physical world, as the lack of motive, desire, or will too, would make it irrational to apply such