A Soul without Akrasia: Plato`s Tripartite Soul and Its Education in the Arts

Abstract

Plato`s doctrine of the tripartite soul is commonly supposed to accommodate akrasia. However, surprisingly, akrasia does not matter much in Plato as one may expect. I propose one reason for this: if akrasia means that one knows what is best but fails to do it (cf. Protagoras 358c-d and Meno 77b-e), knowledge in Plato`s Republic will prevent it perfectly. But the Platonic knowledge must be attained via a long process of education which aims to accomplish the unity of the soul. This is not to ignore the partition of the soul in the Republic, but try to submit a more comprehensive interpretation which coherences Plato`s partition of the soul with his efforts on unifying it. The paper will read Plato`s education in the arts within the context of his doctrine of the tripartite soul. Some scholars suggest that the education in the arts in books 2 and 3 is for the non-rational elements in the soul. I will challenge this view and provide a more holistic reading, along with Plato`s main argument for the tripartition in book 4. In my interpretation, the education in the arts plays a crucial role in integrating the soul in Plato`s whole educational scheme. This also explains why Plato criticizes poetry for its corrupting effects on the soul in book 10. A soul equipped with Plato`s knowledge will be free of akrasia. But, before the soul attains knowledge, the role of the arts in education is always Plato`s serious concern, for their power of unifying or partitioning the soul.

「缺乏自制」在柏拉圖哲學中，出乎意外地不大具有份量。這並不吻合大多數人在道德實踐上遇到的困難。本文對此提出的理由是：如果「缺乏自制」意指一個人「明知道怎樣最好，卻沒這麼做」，那麼，柏拉圖《理想國》裡的「知識」可以完全避免這情形。但這嚴格意義的「知識」，必須透過漫長的教育，使心靈完全和諧一體。這裡試圖對柏拉圖既區分靈魂、又致力於心靈和諧一體的說法進行理解，將《理想國》第二、三卷的文藝教育整合在對心靈整體的教育藍圖中。以第四卷發展出來的靈魂三分說為理論背景，柏拉圖的文藝教育預設並促進心靈的合一，第十卷則反映出對心靈內在分歧的擔憂。文藝對於心靈合一與分歧的影響，正是心靈能否免於「缺乏自制」的關鍵。