Picking up on the theme of Order and Chaos from the previous post, I thought it might be of interest to explicate Plato’s concept of an ordered soul in The Republic.

For Plato, the soul (psyche) is composed of three main faculties – the epithumetikon, the thumoeides, and the logistikon.

The epithumetikon is literally the ‘little desirer’ and is “concerned with eating, drinking, sex, and all their followers.” This is often translated as the appetitive faculty.

The thumoeides is a higher faculty than the epithumetikon, as it is “always wholly set on mastery, victory, and good reputation.” Whereas the ‘little desirer’ wants material things and physical pleasures, the thumoeides (sometimes translated as the ‘spirited’ faculty though this is potentially misleading given that Spirit has different meanings in different contexts) desires immaterial qualities.

Both epithumetikon and thumomeides are derived from thumos, which in Homeric times referred to the motive force in man, and which is traditionally associated with the chest (hence the naming of the thymus gland.) Plato says that these faculties correspond to “money and opinion.”

(If we were to transpose these terms into yogic terminology, we might look at the similarities between the tripartite soul and the three gunas, and locate the epithumetikon in the region of the genitals and stomach, and the thumoeides in the chest, considered the seat of courage as in one who ‘has great heart.’)

The third and highest faculty is the logistikon, which derives from logos. This faculty desires learning and wisdom, which ultimately lead to the Absolute. Though Plato does not say so explicitly, we can reasonably infer that the logistikon comprises the two higher types of consciousness of which he writes later on. The first is dianoia, which is discursive reasoning and is related to mathematics. The second and higher faculty is nous, which is direct perception of true reality. These later became ratio and intellectus in the philosophy of the Middle Ages.

Different types of men are ruled by different parts of the soul. A man governed by the appetitive faculty will be primarily concerned with mundane affairs and satisfying as many of his desires as he is able. There are many men like this.

A man governed by the thumoeides will be more concerned with honor and mastery and fame, whether in his own eyes or merely in the eyes of others. Depending on what kind of honor he desires, such a man might be a wealthy businessman, or a famous actor, or a courageous soldier. These men are rarer.

According to Plato, the philosopher must be ruled by the logistikon and its desire for learning and wisdom, and must properly order his soul so that the two lower faculties of the soul are ruled by this desire, rather than obscuring or obstructing it. This proper ordering of the soul is called sophrosune, translated as self-control or moderation. Plato calls it a kind of harmony between all the parts of the soul, which “becomes entirely one from the many, moderate and harmonized. Then, and only then, he acts.”

Therefore, when all the soul follows the philosophic and is not factious, the result is that each part may, so far as other things are concerned, mind its own business and be just and, in particular, enjoy its own pleasures, the best pleasures, and, to the greatest possible extent, the truest pleasures.

Note that Plato does not call for the suppression of the lower faculties. The proper order of the soul is not a tyranny, but a monarchy.

This proper ordering of the soul is the precondition for the practice of philosophy; that is, awakening the nous and attaining true gnosis. And this proper ordering cannot be achieved without taking up the ancient maxim Know Thyself.