If you try to find out how Plato in particular described the soul forces of eros and thumos, you will discover scholars debating with each other, but without reaching any conclusion. The metaphysician, on the other hand, takes a radically different approach. Through meditation and contemplation, he will observe how these forces act in his consciousness. He will learn to recognize the forces in all aspects of his life: viz., how they affect his body, his feelings, his imagination, his thoughts.

This is symbolized by “awakening the chakras,” which represent the different centers in man. Typically, the symbol is taken for the reality, and, instead of self-observation, the mystic will go in search of these chakras. This is the occult equivalent of snark hunting.

For example, he may observe how sexual fantasies arise and how they tend to dominate his consciousness. That is eros. Or, he may observe other fantasies where he tells off his boss, gets even with an enemy, defeats an intruder. He recognizes those as the manifestation of thumos in the imagination. There are obvious reasons that so much popular culture involves sex and violence. Movements to remove them cannot reach to the cause of the problem.

In our thinking faculty, eros is experienced as excitement about a system of thought. This may be a new book or article by a favored author, or the expression of some idea that “hits home”. There is the search for novelty in thought, the next great idea or movement, a new writer, and so on. People dominated by this force will say things such as “I like that idea,” or “I find it interesting.” Thought systems that appeal to this force tend to flatter believers.

Thumos can be recognized by aggression in thought. Men become upset or angry by another’s ideas. Discussion or debate is regarded as a type of blood sport. I’ve seen men invite debate with phrases such as “bring it on,” as though their words will bring their interlocutor to his knees. Anyone who has browsed in a university library can see that few questions are so definitively resolved. Thought systems that appeal to this force provide a sense of identity and purpose, so that anything that undercuts them is experienced as a threat.

Do not mistake these observations for moral judgments. The forces have their useful purpose, for example, in motivating one in the search for knowledge or in defense of the truth. Nevertheless, that is only possible when the forces are under the mastery of the Intellect. Otherwise, they will simply lead a man astray.

As in the imagery of Plato’s Chariot, the Intellect, or the Heart or Spirit, is to dominate the lower soul forces. This notion is common to Rene Guenon and Julius Evola. This is not simply a war between different sources, but rather a movement, a conversion, in a different direction, namely, the vertical or transcendent. Once again to be clear, this is not some philosophical theory, but something that must be verified or “realized” in one’s own consciousness.

Specifically, thoughts gradually lose their emotional force as a man learns to observe them without attachment. He sees that all thought systems are points of view and the Intellect is superior (transcendent) to all such points of view. In the Central Philosophy of Buddhism, Murti writes:

Spiritual culture is self-culture … the essence of self-culture is the bringing about a change in oneself, not in the environment… Spiritual culture must be further understood as an intense and sustained self-reflection, self-criticism. It is a ceaseless watchfulness of one’s doings—speech, bodily and mental action. Passions overpower us because of our self-forgetfulness, we are not self-possessed. With mindfulness regained, the passions cease to have hold on us. … the dialectic on the intellectual side is the reflective criticism of the inveterate tendency of the mind to speculate and spin theories …

There should be no need to remind readers that this is not a task for hermits and recluses. To the contrary, it is the necessary attitude for action in the world. It is a process of detoxification from false belief systems. As Evola put it:

To lift oneself up is not possible as long as one remains under the influence of forms of false and deviant thinking. Detoxified, a man can pursue clarity, rectitude, strength.