Amer Dardaan

STANAK, Society for Research of Bosnian Medieval History

adardagan @aubih.edu.ba)

Plato's spirituality
(The Eternal Soul and the "Real" World)

Abstract

Mixture of philosophy and religion defines Plato's tradition of spirituality known as Platonism. The view of God as
a First Principle or Supreme Good rather than a person is based on platonistic doctrine that anything that have
personality is changeable and belongs to Lower Realm, while God is an eternal principle who emanates
unchangeable untelligible Forms in the Upper Realm. According to Plato, ascent to heaven from the cave or
world of shadows could happen only after the conversion of inverted soul through "intellectual vision" or "ascetic
paradigm". The very concept of spirituality in the West as we know it today comes from Plato and it is still an
integral part of all three monotheistic religions today. In the Republic we learn about Allegory of the Cave; in
Meno Theory of the Recollection; in Phaedo Theory of the Immortality of the Soul; in Phaedrus Theory of
Division and the Fall of the Soul; and finally in Symposium we learn about doctrine of Platonic Love.

Key words

Plato, First principle, Ascetic paradigm, Upper and Lower Realm, Forms, Recollection, The Soul, Platonic Love.

Platonic concept of a God which is not viewed as a "person", rather the eternal First Principle
derives also from the fact that God as a principle can be "loved", as is the case with religious
tradition where we imagine God as a person whom we love and adore. Plato's first principle, the
light that shines on the highest point of the universe that we see when we get out of "the cave" is
the Supreme Good that can be the object of love and the target of deepest forms of spirituality.
Spiritualty that is emotionally rich and very personal because it involves the engagement of the
deepest parts of the "self", mainly our souls.

It is useful here to stop and rethink what Plato actually thinks we are, what it means to be a
person and to have own personality? Plato's allegory of the cave teaches us that this material
world in which we are is the world of cave where there is shadow and illusion, and where all
things are mortal. On the other hand, Plato was more interested in the "real" world that is eternal,
which is not dissipated and does not disappear, nor is variable. Liberation, or exit from the cave
for Plato is abandoning the world that does not last and the ascent to a world that is eternal,
making a clear distinction between "this world" (Lower Realm) and the "other (real) world"
(Upper Realm). Ascent to heaven above "this world" begins with the conversion, or turning the
soul from "dark" to "light", according to Platonic belief that the soul is distorted and inverted
when facing the material world.
ANATROPE-upside-down orientation; the state of the soul that is "out of place" in relation to
"real" hierarchy of the Upper world; for a man who is "down" in the cave, his descent looks
rather like an ascent, which means that the gradual procession in the eyes of man is progressive
state, but in fact it is only an inversion, or being more distant from the simple source, going
toward complex multiplicity.

At the top of the ascent, where the ultimate goal is "intellectual vision" or the ability to see
through "the internal eyes" or intellect, we can see this eternal unchanging forms that are
"intelligible". This is a key metaphor in Platonic thought which is called "ascetic paradigm".
"Intellectual vision" frees us from the material body, turning us into a state receptive to a vertical
ascent toward the source or God. In other words, before such ascent or "turning" of the soul
could happen, it is necessary that a form of ascetic life is properly introduced. According to Plato
we should live a life which is not directed towards Lower Realm and not to be too entangled in
material existence, but rather we should have been facing a "real" or spiritual existence in Upper
Realm.

The very concept of spirituality in the West as we know it today comes from Plato, mostly
through his following works: Republic (Allegory of the Cave), Meno (Theory of the
Recollection), Phaedo (Theory of the Immortality of the Soul), Phaedrus (Theory of Division
and the Fall of the Soul) and Symposium (Doctrine of Platonic Love).

"Meno" - Theory of the Recollection

"Meno" begins with the question: "What is virtue?", but as with many other works of Plato
where skepticism is prevailing, the answer to this question can not be found. In other words, due
to prolonged questioning and review of knowledge about the "virtue", Meno who was known as
a great orator comes to a point where he admits that he really does not know anything about the
true virtue, even though earlier, before he met Socrates who asked this question, he thought he
knew all about it. After the recognition that our knowledge of a particular metaphysical topic is
not sufficient, all the skepticism stops and true Platonism begins. Meno now asks Socrates how
he thinks he can get the answers to this complex question of the essence or form of Virtue?

This is something known in philosophy as "Meno problem" which refers to the question of how
to recognize something, about we did not have any previous knowledge? The answer to "Meno
problem" is Plato's doctrine of recollection. Plato suggests that we have a memory, or
remembrance of what we once have forgotten, but something that essentially we once knew.
Something similar happens when we feel that we know someone on the street, trying to
remember his face, name or from where we know him, or when we try to remember the number,
we are sure that we know the number, but we're trying to remember the right numbers. It's the
same with our aspirations to see the Forms, we know that we can see them, because otherwise
we would not ask "intelligible" questions, nor would we even bother to look for them or try to
see them with "internal eyes".

To see the Forms means that we actually remember something we have temporarily forgotten. A
similar example can be found in mathematics, during the process of trying to figure out the
solution we are constantly working to "recall" the correct answer, which seems to be so close to
us. Finally we come to the stage where we can comfortably say, "I see the answer or This is
it!", "This is so obvious, how I have not seen a solution immediately", "In a way I knew the
solution all the time, I just did not clearly see it". In fact, Plato believed that when we do math,
we are reminded of the truth that has always been there, and that has always been part of us.

Plato explains "the theory of recollection" through introduction of the concept of

"transmigration". After death the soul leaves the body into a new one, very often the animal's
body, but it also means that the soul can get into our body from another body which had its own
life, depicting a kind of migration of the soul which again has a goal or final destination.
Therefore, Plato suggests that it is possible that we have seen Forms in our previous lives, but
when we were born into our present material bodies, we forgot them in accordance with the
Platonic notion that the material body is associated with ignorance. However, through the
philosophical critical examination and asking the right questions, we can briefly see Forms
through recollection, so that at the peak of our experience of recollection, we can say: "Yes, that's
it, of course, that is the real Justice, or that is a real Goodness, Now I see."

Phaedo- "Theory of the Immortality of the Soul"

Plato also developed the concept of "Eternity of the Soul" in his work Phaedo. In this dialogue,
the day of Socrates' death is determined, and this part refers to the conversation and discussion
between the followers of Socrates and Socrates himself before he is forced to drink poison as
punishment for "impiety". Until the execution time which was scheduled at sunset, there is an
ongoing philosophical conversation what is going to happen to Socrates after his death. Socrates'
followers are afraid that after Socrates dies he will not exist anymore, according to ancient
premise before Platonism that after the death "soul is dissipated like breath or smoke so that it no
longer exists". Their concern that their dear friend and teacher Socrates will vanish makes them
deeply afraid, but on the other hand Socrates himself persuades them that soul has a different fate
because it has a different origin, and it is a different being than the body. Socrates' argument
about the "immortal soul" in the Phaedo is based on the notion that there is an internal
connection between the soul and eternal unchanging Forms that we talked about earlier.

This means that the soul has a particular affinity to the Forms that it attracts, because essentially
the soul is eternal and not like the material body which rots and disappears. The essence of
"doctrine of recollection" is the very existence of the human capacity that in certain moments of
life can see the Forms. Recollection of the Forms is a clear indicator for Socrates (Plato) that the
soul comes from other places than the material world. From this also comes the belief that soul
has a life outside the material body even when it is still in it, having its own function, purpose
and destiny separate from the body. The soul has an affinity for the Realm of Forms because it
comes from and return to it and that is the main premise of origin and the eternal nature of the
Soul. Platonic spirituality is based precisely on the fact that the soul has an origin and the
purpose outside the body and that it belongs solely to the Realm of Forms.
Therefore, according to Plato, when the soul leaves the body after death, if it is pure it will leave
the material world completely, and will no longer be subjected to the "transmigration" in the
realm of Aeons, but due to the previous purification or liberation from material desires and
passions, the soul can return to the Realm of Archons where it truly belongs. It should be noted
that the different views on the theory of two worlds and two beings, changing and eternal, is the
main difference between the Gnosticism/Manichaeism and Platonism and it causes a great deal
of confusion in historiography to this day.

The Form (bosnian lily) on the seal from Zgoa

Phaedrus-Theory of the division and the fall of the Soul

In this dialogue, the original state of the soul is not in its physical condition, but its origin is in
disembodied Form. Another myth in the Phaedrus is that soul belongs to the world that is "out"
of the physical universe, so contemplation of the Forms or "intellectual vision" must be directed
from or out of the material world. However, the main story in the Phaedrus is to figure out how
and why the soul "fell" from the world of Forms inside the material body.

The soul has fallen from the heavenly state of contemplation in the body and according to Plato
one of the key reasons why this happened is because the rational or higher part of the soul
(usually symbolized by the image of horseman) was trying to control the desires of the lower part
of the soul, like a horseman who tried to control rowdy horses. Some souls (usually symbolized
by the image of the horse-the lower "part" of the soul) have "good horses" and they are easy to
control, but some souls have "rude or naughty horses" who are attracted to "lower" things like
bodily passions and material desires, and it is difficult to control them because they are
undisciplined. At this point, it is necessary to say something about Plato's "division" of the soul
into three elements.

1. Hunger or appetite that includes all our desires for different pleasures, comforts, physical
satisfactions and physical relief. Plato said that these appetites are often in conflict with each
other, and this element of the soul is presented by the image of ugly black horse which is on the
left side, and is often in Platonism identified with the feminine principle which gives birth to the
new material life.
2. The lively and energetic element is the part that makes us angry, for instance when the
injustice is done to us or to someone else. This is the element of the soul who loves to face and
overcome challenges, who likes victory and honor. This element in the soul is represented by a
beautiful white horse to the right, which is often in Platonism identified with the male principle
that limits the expansion of the material world and who has the ambition of the "return" to the
world of Forms.

3.The mind, intellect or our consciousness is presented by the image of a horseman who directs
the horses on the right track. It is part of the soul that thinks, analyzes, looking ahead, rationally
consider all the options and deciding what is the best and most true for us in general. This
element in the soul is harmonizing aspect that comes directly from the world of Forms above.

Both horses represent lower part of the soul which is prone to exaggeration or deficit, while the
horseman symbolizes the higher or rational part of the soul that harmonizes the lower soul and
makes it "disciplined" and more suitable for the return to the source, in the world of the Forms.
The fall or descent of the soul in the material body causes that the same soul "rise" again to the
world of Forms, and that "ascent" is actually a form of Love. In other words, the inspiration to go
back and to see things that the soul saw at its beginning, on the source of existence is conditioned
by love, which is the main inspiration that makes us want to return back to our essence. The
desire for eternal truth through critical examination and philosophical questions is guided by love
and more about this theme can be found in "Symposium".

Plato's three parts of the soul

(Zgoa steak)
"Symposium"-Doctrine of platonic Love

For our research it is of importance the last speech which was held at a banquet by Socrates,
through Plato's interpretation amcourse. He describes the Love that leads us to the ultimate
Beauty, which is really just another name for the Supreme Good, or God. What actually Plato's
point in this dialogue is that the Supreme Good is identical to the Beauty we crave. What we love
is always something beautiful and according to Plato, it is impossible to love what is ugly, so the
object of love should be and always is beautiful. When we see something physically beautiful, it
ignites our love in relation to the object of beauty which is a material reflection of a real
immaterial beauty. So love in the material world is different from lust, because lust is focused
only on the body while love is always looking for more and refers to the Realm of Forms above,
so therefore we understand why we can fall in love faster with a person which is good, because
in it we recognize the good soul above all. When we see a beautiful soul, our love becomes
greater, because our love has a foundation in the Realm of Forms, which is essentially spiritual.

Plato in the Republic speaks similarly of a well-ordered virtuous city or a well-organized

community that are good and beautiful, which also ignites a deeper love, because in them we
have justice as a reflection of eternal Justice, which is essentially something which we desire
aswell. So at the end of the dialogue, we have a kind of love hierarchy, which we can imagine as
a ladder. At the foot of the ladder is the love of bodies which is essentially something good, but it
should be noted that the purpose of the soul is to ascent on these ladders toward the higher
immaterial Realm of Forms that is not mere reflection but original starting point and a source of
"real" things (Goodness, Love, Beauty, Justice ...).Our relationship with the Forms is emotionally
and spiritually deep and unconditionally led to the worship of eternal principles that came from
the impersonal God, and this is especially true with Platonists who in the later stages syncretised
such feelings toward the eternal First Principle with religious feelings toward personal God
inside Christian, Muslim and Jewish religous setting.

The main problem that Platonists had regarding the view of God as a person was in their
convinction that everything which is personal is actually lower and changeable while God is
eternal and unchanging, it trancedents being and that makes God impersonal. In other words, the
virtue of a person is something that the person can lose and it is changeable category, while the
form of the "Virtue" can never be non-virtuous, therefore, to be a "good person" is actually an
imitation of the real impersonal form of Goodness. The very idea of personality is closely related
to the soul, but according to the neoplatonic ontological hierarchy soul occupies the lowest
position among the metaphysical hypostasis.