Book IX the Soul of a Tyrant

OverView + Characters + The Tyrant +Pleasure Vs Pain +Links

"We must still consider the tyrannical man himself. How does he evolve from the democratic man? What kind of life does he lead? Is he happy or misreable?"

-Socrates(line 571a)


Book IX of the Republic deals with the soul of a tyrant. In it Adeimantus, Glaucon, and Socrates disscuss the cause of devolution from healthy man to a tyrant; as well as the true nature of a tyrant. The tyrant's decent from a healthy soul to the soul dominated by desire deals also with the city as a tyrant and the city's soul.


The Human Soul Socrates explanes the human soul to consist of three thing:
A Man (Logos)
A Lion (Thymos)
A Many-colored Beast (Eros)

Thus a healthy man has to use the courage Thymos and wisdom Logos to tame the many-colored beast Eros
In a tyrant however the many-colored beast dominates the others forcing the person into a ever more futile quest for satisfaction of the beast's unquenchable drive.

Themes of Book IX

• The Creation of a Tyrant
• The Life of a Tyrant
• The Multicolored/Manyheaded Beast

Other Pages:

Overview
Characters
The Tyrant
Pleasure Vs. Pain
Links

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