Jasmine Nicole M.
Capus
11- Mendeleev
LM 03 LESSON 1: METAPHYSICAL
DICHOTOMY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Objectives:
- Illustrate the nature of the human
person as described by Plato using
a graphic organizer.
- Elaborate the concepts of Plato’s
metaphysical dichotomy of the
human person.
- Analyse the concepts of human
nature based on Plato’s
metaphysical dichotomy of the
human nature.
Guide question:
- Who is the human person according
to Plato?
HUMAN NATURE
- For Plato, the nature of the human
person is seen in the metaphysical
dichotomy between body and soul.
- This dichotomy implies that there is
an inherent contradiction between
the body and the soul.
Body: The body of the human person
according to Plato is material, mutable and
destructible.
Soul: The soul for him, is immaterial,
immutable and indestructible
*Note: In as much as the body is material,
mutable and destructible while the soul is
immaterial, immutable and indestructible –
Plato contends that in the context of the
nature of the human person, the body’s
existence is dependent on the soul while the
soul’s existence is dependent on the body.
- In fact, in the time use, Plato argues that
the soul existed prior to the body.
- Plato writes the Gods made the soul prior
to the body and more venerable in birth and
excellence to the body’s mistress and
governor.
- Eddie Babor claims that the contention
above made Plato conclude that the human
person is just a soul using a body.
THE TRIPARTITE SOUL
- For Plato:
a. Rational soul is located on the
head.
b. Spiritual is on the chest
c. Appetitive is on the abdomen.
- According to him, these spiritual and
appetitive souls contribute to the
motion and activities of the whole
person.
- On the flip side, the rational soul’s
function is to guide the spiritual and
appetitive soul.
- The appetitive soul according to
Plato, drives the human person to
experience thirst, hunger and other
physical wants.
- While the spiritual soul, drives the
human person to experience
abomination, anger and other
emotional feelings.
Jasmine Nicole M. Capus
11- Mendeleev
- Lastly, the rational part of the soul
enables the human person to think,
reflect, analyse, comprehend, draw
conclusions, and the like.
- As you can see, the rational soul
which is the highest of all parts of
the soul, guides the other two parts
namely: appetitive and spiritual.
- What else could perform this guiding
function from Plato’s point of view
than the rational part of the soul
Example: Danger! Do not drink. It’s
polluted.
- Think of a desperately thirsty man in
the desert. He sees a pool of water
and approaches it with all the
eagerness that deprivation is able to
create.
- But when he reaches to the pool, he
sees a sign “danger”, “do not drink”
and “It’s polluted.”
Spiritual conflict: He then experiences
conflict within.
Appetitive soul: His desire urges him to
drink but the reason tells him that such
signs usually indicate the truth. That
polluted water will make him very ill or it will
be the cause of his death. And that if he
drinks, he will probably be worse off than he
doesn’t.
Rational soul: He decides then to not drink
it. In this case, it is the rational part of the
soul that opposes his desires. His reason
guides him away from the water.
Another example: a girl named Chloe is
very hungry and so wants to consume
the only food that is accessible, which is
a tuyo; however, she hates tuyo.
Spiritual conflict: she then experiences
conflict within.
Appetitive soul: Chloe doesn’t really like
to eat the tuyo but the reason tells him
that she needs to eat it because she
doesn’t have any other choice. It’s the
only accessible food and she would die
of hunger if she would keep being picky.
Rational soul: She decides then to eat
the tuyo. In this case, it is the rational
part of the soul that opposes her to
being picky.
- The principle then that drives the
person to drink is called an appetite.
While the principle that forbids the
person to drink the water because it
is polluted is called reason.
LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES
- On the metaphysical dichotomy,
Plato illustrates the limitations and
possibilities of the human person on
the following context: the human and
soul and the tripartite soul.
The human person as body and soul:
- For Plato, the soul exist prior to the
body. We can therefore conclude
that:
1. The soul is an entity distinct with
the body.
2. The body and soul are
separable.
Jasmine Nicole M. Capus
11- Mendeleev
3. The human person is just a soul
using a body.
- Plato believes that the soul is
imprisoned in the body, and the soul
survives the death of the body as it
is immaterial, immutable and
indestructible. (ETERNAL)
- On the flip side, the body
decomposes as it is material,
mutable and destructible.
(DECOMPOSES)
The components of the human soul:
- Furthermore, when a person dies,
the soul leaves the body and goes
back to the world of forms.
*Note: Plato’s doctrine of form states that
there are two kinds of worlds:
1. The world of forms
2. The world of matter
- For Plato, everything comes from
the World of forms. And everything
that exist which describes the world
of matter will go back to the world of
forms after it perishes.
Body: limitations, decomposes World
of
Matter
Soul: Possibilities Eternal World
of
Forms
- Remember that when a person dies,
the body decomposes and the soul
will go back to the world of forms
and lives there eternally.
- We can therefore conclude, that the
body in the world of matter sets
limits to the human person as it is
material, mutable, destructible and
temporal.
- While the soul from the world of
forms is the possibility of the person
as it is immaterial, immutable,
indestructible and eternal.
- Another way to look on the concept
of limitations and possibilities of the
human person is to analyse Plato’s
description of the components of the
human soul.
- For him ---- desire, spirit and reason
make up the soul.
- Desire motivates, spirit animates
and reason guides. These suggests
that the appetitive soul and the
spiritual soul can set limits to the
human person because the two
possess a positive and negative
nature.
- On the flip side, the rational soul is
there for the possibilities of the
human person that is why it is
positioned in the highest level.
Reason guides Possibilities
(highest level)
Spirit animates Limitations
Desire positive and
motivates negative
Jasmine Nicole M. Capus
11- Mendeleev
- Consider this situation: A man is
angry with another person who
insulted him out of anger, he made
desire to kill his smoker but does not
actually kill the culprit because he
knows that if he does it, he will be
imprisoned.
- With the same thread of reasoning,
the desire of man limits
himself/herself but the reasoning of
man serves the possibility to redirect
man.
- The human person according to
Plato is that a man is a body with a
soul where in the body’s existence is
dependent on the soul while the
soul’s existence is dependent on the
body. They are tied between desires
that are implanted in this world, and
yearning for the struggle that will
lead him to truth in another,
transcendent world.

- Plato argues that it is the spirit in

man that makes the person angry
with his derider yet his anger is
curved by reason as it is caused by
the rational soul.

TRANSCENDENCE

- In its simplest sense, transcendence

is the capacity of the individual to
overcome his limitations.

- The human person is endowed with

possibilities that he/she can be
utilized to transcend.

- Considering Plato’s metaphysical

dichotomy of the human person,
transcendental can be achieved
through a well-balanced personality
by allowing reasons to successfully
guide desires and spirit.

ENDING QUESTION:

Who is the human person according to

Plato?