The Tripartite Soul In Plato's Republic

In Plato’s Republic, Plato discusses the tripartite soul. The three parts discussed include the rational, located in the position of the mind, the appetitive, located in our bodily desires and impulses, and the emotional or spirited. Plato argues that the rational portion of the soul must remain in control of the other portions constantly, so that the body may function properly. When it comes to the three parts of the soul, the appetitive and spirited portions of the soul must remain subordinate to the rational. Firstly, if the appetitive and spirited portion of the soul were not subordinate to the rational, then people would not reign any control over their body’s needs and impulses, which is not a good thing. For example, if a person were to desire food, then the appetite would tell the body to eat anything and everything. This careless way of acting would occur for every impulse the body had, but having the rational portion of the soul guide these bodily impulses allows the body to decide good and bad; in this case …show more content…
The rational part of the soul needs to obtain control over its spirited and appetitive portions because if the tripartite soul did not grant control to the rational, the body would be uncontrollable and act upon every single impulse it had without any rational thought. Certain spontaneous thoughts and actions can not cause any harm to the body, but others can; therefore, the rational must always be present. The rational portion of the soul is the overseer or safety net, and rationality will always be the judge of what is good and bad/ right or wrong.
In conclusion, the rational portion of the soul should always remain in control over the appetitive and spirited portions. Although not all spontaneous and sudden decisions are harmful, some are. Having the rational portion as a safety net, allows sorting of the impulses, and ultimately leads to a happier and safer life