THE ARGUMENT FOR PLATO’S TRIPARTE DIVISION:

The argument for Plato’s tripartite division of the soul is based on his notion of the
ideal city in which he assumes that there are three kinds of citizens: guardians,
auxiliary forces and artisans. Plato believes that there is an isomorphic relation
between the city in the soul in that they both have three parts which correspond to
each other. Thus, Plato develops an analogy between the soul and a city.
According to Plato, the three parts of the soul are the rational, spirited and
appetitive parts. The rational part corresponds to the guardians in that it performs
the executive function in a soul just as it does in a city. The spirited part
corresponds to the military or auxiliary forces because it is expected to display the
virtue of courage. The appetitive part corresponds to the bankers or artisans who
are only concerned with pleasure.

Logistikon
The first part of the tripartite soul is logistikon. This is the part of the soul that loves logic, thought,
and rational learning. Plato equated this part of the soul with the temperament associated with
Athenians.
When the logical part of the soul is dominant, the person is able to distinguish well between fantasy
and reality. The logical part of the soul is also wise and able to make decisions that are just; in fact,
much of Plato's understanding of justice comes from valorizing the logical part of the soul.
Plato reasons that philosopher-kings, or wise thinkers and rulers who Plato ultimately believes
should rule over any government, have deeper access than others to the logical part of their soul,
and are thus wiser and better able to make just and reasonable decisions.

Thymoeides
The second part of the soul is called thymoeides, and this is usually thought of as the most spirited
of the three parts. It is this part of the soul that causes people to experience strong emotions,
particularly anger and temper.
Plato associated thymoeides with the desire to do good and to be good, because in his view, it was
spirit that enabled courage and passionate principle. He considered this part of the soul to be
partnered with the logical part, since both of them ultimately work in favor of righteousness and
justice.

Epithymetikon
Finally, the third part of Plato's soul was called epithymetikon, and this is thought of as the
appetitive part. It is the part of the human soul that cannot resist appetites, including those for food,
power, and sex. This part of the soul is often conflated with the Freudian id.