Welcome back philosophers! This weeks post will be venturing into the realm of the abstract, that being the theory of the golden soul. The notion of a golden character spans time but was famously explored by Plato in his construction of the ideal state in which the idea of a class system was established. Namely I’ll be focusing on those placed in the golden class who are also referred to as philosopher rulers. The essence of the gold soul theory can be tackled from many viewpoints of which I will focus on three: the archetype of the philosopher king, the lightworker and the idea of godhood.
Gold soul theory as it suggests namely delves into the requisites of a golden soul and the burden of growth. It can be said the one thing in this life that changes is the price of gold, however unlike the fluctuations in value of this valuable commodity – a golden soul is thought to be altogether more stable and even more-so valuable. Throughout the course of these posts I will aim to distinguish the golden soul from the bog standard.
Plato introduces the class system in the Republic corresponding the virtues of each individual to a class. The Republic is made up of three classes: gold, silver and bronze. Each having their own parts to play in the prosperity of the state.
Golden class – composed of the philosopher rulers who collectively guide the state and engage in a life long pursuit of the Forms. The golden class was also non discriminatory regarding gender, therefore those who were capable of ruling (reason) could rule. #yasssPlato
Silver class – composed of the auxiliaries who act as intermediaries between the golden class and the bronze class.
Bronze class – the labour force.
Plato in his implementation of the class system proposes the inclusion of the Myth of Metals otherwise referred to as the ‘magnificent myth’ or ‘noble lie’. Although seemingly a ploy to aid the prosperity of the state, it acts as a form of propaganda to ensure the cooperation of individuals and hence promote a totalitarian view. Now we’ve seen the damage propaganda can do in the perpetuation of a not so noble lie throughout history. Although the magnificent myth is less so a perpetuation of hate and exclusion but is used as a means of promoting cooperation. This then enters the realm of teleological ethics where the ends is thought to justify the means. An example of this would be utilitarianism – “the greatest good, for the greatest number”. Now the problem arises considering that the greatest number in the state would be the labour force yet the gravitas of decision making regarding the state falls on the minority- the philosopher rulers. Also the relativity of ‘good’ is to be brought up as this can slip into the realm of hedonism.
One thing to be considered in the state is the importance of happiness, was Plato concerned with the happiness of the states’ inhabitants ? Most probably Plato’s answer would be the prevalence of justice and a prosperous state would be the foundation for happiness to arise. Plato then goes on to discuss the different types of societies in relation to the different characters of man. He often uses man as a microcosm to further explore the possible effects on a macro scale. The underlying principle of the class system put quite plainly is:
Play your part.
If the whole is acting in accordance with each other and performing its own tasks without concerning itself with the tasks of another, that is justice.
The importance of justice in man and hence on a macro scale in society was also cosigned by Plato’s student- Aristotle. Aristotle concluded there were 4 cardinal virtues:
- Temperance
- Prudence ( practical wisdom)
- Fortitude
- Justice
*These virtues were also adopted by the Christian Faith and also include sub-virtues that were elaborated on by Thomas Aquinas.
Plato and the immortality of the soul
Aha! Now we enter the realm of the metaphysical. The nature and primarily the existence of the soul is a hot topic in philosophy as it raises the idea of mans duality – that is the mortality of the flesh that is bound to decay and the idea of the immortal soul from the realm of reason. The archetype of the philosopher ruler is concerned with the relations between the eternal and the world of senses. The primary drive of a philosopher is to draw the people’s minds upwards to what is eternally true and good. In some ways they are prophets, radical in their thoughts and urging us to draw our attention inside to the infinite and upwards to the immutable.
Everything tangible in nature flows, life is essentially a continuous transfer of energy inclusive of cycles of decomposition and composition. Everything belonging to the physical realm in time will decay, to which Plato proposed all things are fashioned after an eternal ‘form’. Therefore we can only have opinions of tangible things in the physical realm and true knowledge of ideas that are reached through reason. This points to our ways of knowing in the world of senses (physical realm) which are relative to our faculty to perceive with our 5 senses. Therefore in the case of imperfect ways of knowing, our knowledge would be inexact conceptions and therefore incomplete.
*I’ll remind you the terms ‘form’ and ‘idea’ will be used interchangeably.
Plato’s theory of ideas consists of the existence of an intelligible realm in which the immutable ‘forms’ or ‘ideas’ exist. These forms are the eternal perfect mold which things in the physical realm resemble, this is the world of senses vs. the world of ideas.
- The world of senses is subjective
- Our ways of knowing such as observation vary depending on our faculty of vision
- Reason is eternal and universal as it originates from the intelligible realm
- Reason is a means of gaining true knowledge
Plato believed that through our sensory experiences and through recollections of instances in the physical realm there is a stirring in our soul which causes us to seek the form of which our perception is an imperfect reflection. This is described as ‘eros’ by Plato, not to be confused with sexual love but rather a yearning for true knowledge. **Love will be discussed further in a following post regarding its role in the burden of growth.
An example is a flower, lets say for arguments sake – a lavender both aesthetically and olfactorily pleasing could be considered to be beautiful but not beauty itself. It is in fact an instance of beauty, now beauty is one of the trickier ones as beauty can be found in almost anything ( beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all). This then stirs the soul and there is a yearning to glimpse Beauty in its infinite form. Of course to wonder whether there is a common denominator from which all these beautiful things partake in is an ideal path in which those who dabble in philosophic practices are more likely to embrace. There are those quite content with the world of senses, perhaps not yielding to the stirring.
#openyourthirdeye #soulawakeningmyg
Now the introduction of a possible realm outside of our world of senses may seem far fetched as it can’t be quantified or observed especially with our limited sensory faculty. But let’s consider the nature of the forms – they are essentially perfection. It can be postulated that perfection can’t exist in a world of consistent decay so the premise must follow there must be an intelligible realm separate from our world of senses in which the forms reside. And to which we and everything in this world of constant decomposition and compositon are mere reflections. A question that may be tickling your mind is whether humans are fashioned in the form of an idea human ? God ? Or perhaps an idea soul.
The existence of a non-physical soul existing in the physical realm may seem paradoxical by virtue of everything is this world eventually being subject to decay. To which I pose the following question:
Are we able to reach the Forms and if so would it be through a physical or non physical medium ?
Plato follows that in order to reach these immutable forms, reason is the means to do so. Reason being likened to an innate knowledge of objective truth from the world of ideas that our soul forgot as it awoke in our human bodies. An instance of objective truth Plato was particularly concerned with was mathematics as it has absolute answers and as such he made it a part of the education for philosopher rulers. Back to the question posed earlier, with the inference that reason is innate knowledge of the forms, the soul would have to be a non-physical medium for us to reach the intelligible. Following this premise, if our souls are eternal it is reasonable to suggest it originated in the intelligible realm and therefore holds that knowledge. The problem that now arises is the problem of interaction.
We can assume the non-physical is more powerful than the physical as its integrity is not affected by time. If the non-physical is more powerful than the physical, one could conclude that the non- physical is able to transcend natural law and therefore the soul would be able to reside and interact with the physical. Upon death, the soul being able to transcend the physical can return from whence it came.
- There are natural laws that we are restricted by in the physical realm
- The physical is unable to transcend natural law
- The non physical is more powerful than the physical
- The non physical is outside natural law and therefore able to transcend it
- The non physical is able to reside and interact with the physical
* * *
The light worker and the idea of godhood and consequently the burden of growth will be explored in a further post as we continue to unfold the gold soul theory and the implications on the individual and society.
Hol’ tight everyone that made it this far, I hope your brews aren’t cold!
– gold soul theorist
‘Ave a gander!
Plato: The Republic
Aristotle’s Nichomanean Ethics
The Prophet Khalil Gibran
For your listening pleasure: The Underachievers Gold Soul Theory
thefulbe 