Similarities between Plato and Freud on the Nature of Mind Free Essay Example, 2250 words

This paper illustrates that the Platonic dialogue, The Republic, gives a scholarly approach to the early roots of psychology to the existence of modern psychoanalysis of Freud. In this analog, Plato asserts that human is made of the soul. He viewed the soul as immortal and explained the concepts of the mortal body. In his theory, Plato views death as a process by which the soul is released from the mortal body. The Platonic theory asserts that the human soul exists in three divisions and he explained them as, the Reason, the Spirit, and the Appetite, each with its own reasoning powers and goals. In his explanation, Reason functions to seek the absolute truth and to pursue the supper good for the person as a whole. Spirit is associated with love of honor, praise and winning while Appetitive soul judges by appearance and seeks human desires such as food, water, and sex among others. Accordingly, Plato asserts that, for harmony to occur within the soul, Reason must take control of the Appetite and the Spirit. Here, Reason regulates Appetite in judging its true desires and training Spirit on the need to serve its goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Similarities between Plato and Freud on the Nature of Mind or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Therefore, reason assumes the role of moral judgment within the human soul. Among the astonishing facts of human species is the ability to interpret the world from the moral perspective. Put differently, the human species can evaluate objects and events (and even themselves) not solely based on the pragmatic goodness of badness but the moral goodness or badness as well. This applies in respect of well-known norms of the right and the wrong. Arguing from the moral perspective, human beings discuss, contemplate, and debate concepts such as virtue and justice. They also ponder about nature (for instance, whether human beings are good or evil naturally). In addition, humans imagine the borders of what they can do. They contemplate about the future prospects and the kind of personalities they would like to have.