Something about the rain, and a dark, almost dreary Saturday, drives me to think of deep topics. As of this writing, it is one of those days.
Soul. Redemption. Heart versus mind. These thoughts have been running through my mind. The metaphysical question of the makeup of the human soul has always interested me. And, of late, I’ve become deeply intrigued by a question in decision making of whether to follow the head or the heart. In this article, my goal is essentially to sort out my own thoughts on the topic. You, my readers, are along for the ride. I hope it’s a good one.
Modern thinking, as such, seems to divide human psyche into two parts: the head and the heart. The head being our rational, intellectual side, and our heart being the part of emotion and desires. While somewhat true, I’ve come to the conclusion that cannot be the entire picture. In his book Republic, Plato divides the core of human existence into three separate, yet necessarily intricately entwined parts. This tripartite essence of the human soul is as follows:
The appetites (the part from which arises desires, hunger, money, etc.),
the heart (the spirited part; the one that becomes indignant when aware of an injustice; the part that plucks up courage, loves to win),
and the mind (our conscious awareness; that part which analyses what is true, rationally weighs options, and ultimately makes the choice based off of the collective values of each part’s weight in the situation).
The impact of Greek Gnosticism upon the early Christians has trickled down to us today. The gnostic’s foundational teaching being that one’s intellect is what will be their salvation. Early Christians saw this, and wanted none to do with it. Since then, much of the preaching in Christian churches has been of the danger of relying solely on the intellect. Which is true; one cannot rely solely upon the intellect, the three parts of the soul are there to compliment and to keep the others in check. The problem is, I fear that we are found, instead, in the opposite ditch, of solely heart-led worship (“led by the spirit” is another, perhaps familiar way to phrase it).
Plato’s concept of the soul entails all three of the parts covered above. Now, many think that the concept Plato is portraying necessitates all three parts to be balanced equally amongst each other. This is not the case. In Plato’s view, the intellect should be the leading influence in decision making. For example, your stomach wants to go eat an entire birthday cake. That desire should pass through your mind, and end there. Your intellect will tell you, for many reasons, why that’s a jolly rotten idea. Similarly, one’s heart might have the courage to attempt to, barehanded, fend off a grizzly bear from killing a deer. While this would be bravery and an honorable idea, reason will tell you that it is also a stupid idea. However, were the intellect acting alone, while its ideas would be reasonable, they would lack heart and desire; two necessary parts of the soul, without which there should be no desire to carry out the wise idea, and no courage with which to enact it.
So, how is all of this relevant? How might one practically apply the principal of the tripartite soul? Well, first, by understanding one thing. The need for redemption.
Since the fall of mankind comes our need of redemption. Each part of our soul has been corrupted. The appetites crave what it should not have; the heart has misplaced, or even lacks courage and honor, and the mind has been corrupted to be able to dutifully find a way to ‘rationalize’ the wrong desire, or the lack of courage. The Bible, in Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” That word ‘heart’ is, in Greek, ‘kardia.’ It also portrays the concept of the soul, meaning ‘thoughts/feelings.’
Without redemption and transformation of the entire soul: head, heart, and appetite, the correct balance between these cannot be attained. The unredeemed soul will hand over their mind to either their heart, or even more likely, their appetites. Hence, naturalism was founded as a godless alternative so that all manner of appetites may be fulfilled without the thought of answering to any higher power.
Personally, I have experienced some fierce battles between my head, my heart, and my appetite. It happens every day, even every decision (or it should). With God’s help and constant redemption, I endeavor to become a well-balanced soul; one that doesn’t fear the appetite and its desires; does not fear the heart and its attachments and feelings, and does not fear the intellect and reason. I believe a well-balanced individual, in all three of these parts, will be able to think like none other, to desire the good, true, and beautiful, and to have a decided steadiness of heart.
I have enjoyed this writing. If you have any thoughts, insights, criticisms, or antitheses, let me know in the comments. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share this page if you find it helpful. Godspeed.
Love it!! Well thought through, well written, and applicable to daily life! I will mull this for a while.