Political images of the soul

Forthcoming in R. Edmonds III & P. Destrée (dir.), Plato and the power of images, Brill.Folk psychology has traditionally used political images to represent the soul, whether dealing with actions, motivations, or other events, e.g. deliberation and psychic conflict. But the shift from ordinary language or myth to the true essence of the soul must be made with great precaution, especially when a philosopher like Plato employs these metaphors and images with a precise purpose in mind. This paper examines the use of political images (comparisons, analogies and metaphors) which compare the soul to a city, especially those in the Republic. It will be argued that these images aim at representing an ideal ordering of one's soul in a given political society, fulfilling the scope of the city-soul analogy. Political images of the soul are a means for going beyond a mere isomorphism between psychology and politics, and they explain how the two fields interact, so that politics can act upon the soul of the individual. If the city-soul analogy, strictly understood, fails in explaining the valid relations of inclusion between individuals and the city they belong to, the political metaphors are powerful devices for making the rule of law a reality in the city. Transferring the power of reason to the power of law is a task that political metaphors of the soul seem to fulfill for an audience of citizens in the platonic city