Dialectic of mind: Difference between revisions

 

== History ==

 

[[w:Plato|Plato]] envisioned the soul as a chariot, with [[w:logos|logistikon]] (representing intellect and reason) as the driver; the horses pulling the cart are [[w:thumos|thymoeides]] and [[w:eros|epithymetikon]], our spirit and our desires.{{sfn|Plato|2008|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DPhaedrus%3Asection%3D246a 246a–b]}} Plato advocated for a state of [[wiktionary:δικαιοσύνη|justice]] - balance within the soul, where each part performs its function without overriding the others. The rational part should guide the individual, with the spirited and appetitive part supporting its decisions without dominating the soul.{{sfn|Plato|1998|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0168%3Abook%3D4%3Asection%3D433a 4.433a]}} [[w:Aristotle|Aristotle]] distinguished between the intellectual virtues of the mind capable of reason, and the ethical virtues of the mind capable of emotion.{{sfn|Aristotle|2003|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristot.+Nic.+Eth.+1103a&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0054 1103a1–10]}} He defined these virtues as a "golden mean" between the states of excess and deficiency - for example, a proud person is in a mean between self-loathing and arrogant vanity.{{sfn|Aristotle|2003|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristot.+Nic.+Eth.+1106a&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0054 1106a26–b28]}}