Plato and the Divided Self

Plato''s account of the tripartite soul is a memorable feature of dialogues like the Republic, Phaedrus and Timaeus: it is one of his most famous and influential yet least understood theories. It presents human nature as both essentially multiple and diverse - and yet somehow also one - divided into a fully human ''rational'' part, a lion-like ''spirited part'' and an ''appetitive'' part likened t...