Plato was a famous Greek philosopher, dating back nearly two and a half millennia. He was one of the first philosophers to question a systematic approach to creating the perfect society, which required knowledge of human nature and the defects it contains. He was also the first to experiment with democracy. Plato firmly believed in the immortal soul. He theorized that the soul was divided into three parts: appetite, spirit and reason. Reason, being the most important, should prevail over the other two. In cases where spirit and appetite dominated over reason, Plato diagnosed that an imperfect society would be created, thus influencing individuals who contribute to the unjust society. The only way to solve this problem is for an elite group known as the Guardians to arise through education. The Guardians would be able to justly rule society without greed for power, creating the perfect society. I, however, disagree with Plato's theory, believing that everyone should have the same opportunity to reach their potential and that there is no perfect society. Plato often argued that the soul was divided into three parts, also known as the tripartite theory. . The first part of the soul identified by Plato is eros, also called appetite. This is defined as the basis of biological desire for food, thirst and sexual desire. The second part is the nous or reason, which is the knowledge of the person. The final part is the spirit or thumos and includes a person's passion, emotion and heart. These three parts were always present and influenced every decision made. An example used by the text is that if a man is thirsty but thinks the water given to him is poisoned, he will not drink it. In order for him to come to this conclusion, there must be p...... middle of paper ...... preventing him from becoming corrupted by power. Plato often argued that the soul was made up of three parts. Appetite, which is natural, desires; spirit, being one's emotions; reason, which is knowledge. It was this theory that led him to the conclusion that the dominion of any party over reason would result in a corrupt society. The only way to solve this problem was through education, which would cause an elite subgroup to emerge. This group would be suited to receive higher education, enabling them to govern society. I strongly disagree with this prescription, believing that everyone should be given an equal opportunity to reach their potential and have a say in how society is run, creating a just society. Works Cited Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman, and Peter Matthews Wright, Twelve Theories of Human Nature, (Oxford University Press, 2013), 89.