/lit/ - Literature

There are some noticeable differences between Freud's and Plato's theory of the tripartite psyche, though there are strong (and fascinating) similarities.

e.g. Plato's Logos seems to be more natural and 'pure' than Freud's ego. Nevertheless both authors claim at some point that it is the more argumentative, self-critical part of the psyche.

Plato tells the story of a man who does not wish to look at a dead body but wills himself to anyhow, subsequently calling his eyes whores, in order to explain the bottom part of the psyche, what would align rather with Freud's Id.

Finally, the thumatic part of the psyche for Plato (superego for Freud) seems to wish for approval by others and for status in society, which Freud would probably relegate more towards the ego. Still, both seems to concur that this part of the soul is where social mores manifest.