Spirited Motivation and the Novelty of Reason

Abstract

Chapter 5 examines “early” works that anticipate the Republic’s account of the role of spirited motivations in social and political life and the related challenges of promoting proper moral education and civic unity. It surveys Plato’s early depictions of traditional moral education and popular values, as well as his early treatment of political unity, civic strife, and the ethics of helping friends and harming enemies. The chapter also argues against the common view that the spirited part of the soul represented the main innovation of Plato’s tripartite theory. Rather, it suggests, the reasoning part was his contribution to received folk psychology and ethics, and that is why “early” dialogues focus so heavily on intellectual and rational aspects of human psychology.