odily pleasure. This aspect of the soul is satisfied only by the creature comforts such as food, sex, and drink (167). These three divisions are found in the individual, but in varying degrees. Some will lean more towards the appetite, while other are spirit-driven, and still others find greater fulfillment through the intellectual pursuits of reason (168). Plato clearly favors the reason in his three part soul, since it is with reason that one can grasp the Forms, which themselves are the ultimate in beauty and truth. To this end, the State, like the individual, has three parts that correspond to the parts of the individual soul. The “lowest” of the parts is the appetite, which is comprised of the common people. These would be craftsmen, laborers, and farmers who perform the menial tasks essential to the functioning of the State. Those who make up this part of the State are best left to their own devices, to enjoy and pursue physical and material pleasures, because they are not capable of grasping the Forms. The second tier, the spirit, would be comprised of soldiers. It is the soldiers who have a slight understanding of the Forms, but not enough of one to allow reason to dictate their actions. Soldiers fight to the death to defend the State because of their emotional ties to it. In fact, Plato proposes that the government raise children, thereby making the State a common “mother” to all (78). Finally, reason comprises the highest part of the state, and it is from here that philosophers and rulers emerge. These are the individuals who are not interested in physical pleasures or emotional bonds. Rulers and philosophers are occupied with the study of the Forms because they can most readily grasp them. This understanding of the ultimate good allows for the existence of philosopher-kings and philosopher-queens, who can rule over the spirit and the appetite and ensure that the State remains in its pro...
