Plato’s Overview of the Soul
How a tale can explain the meaning of life?
The famous Greek philosopher Plato in his dialogue Phaedrus, likely reflecting on the tragedies that had begun to explore the human psyche, admits that the soul is internally divided and contains conflicting forces:
The conclusion is that evil resides in the soul, not in the body.
Within the soul, internal energies conflict with one another, capable of leading it astray. The myth of the Winged Chariot describes this interpretation.
In the myth,
- a man is likened to a chariot,
- the chariot is pulled by a pair of winged horses
- and driven by a charioteer.
The two horses include a white, noble one that is easily led and a black, unruly one that refuses to be tamed by the charioteer.
Before falling into the body, the human soul followed the procession of the gods until it reached a steep ascent, where it could behold Being (i.e. the Truth).
The gods encounter no trouble along their path because the horses of their chariots are both white, hence moving in the same direction, and the charioteer faces no difficulty in controlling them; conversely, the journey of…
