The Chariot Allegory of Plato, which appears in the Phaedrus, is a very important
part of the Western -- and World -- philosophical tradition. It presents a rich metaphor
for the soul and its journey.
The soul is portrayed as a charioteer (Reason), and two winged steeds: one white
('spiritedness', the irascible, boldness) and one black (concupiscence, the appetitive,
desire). The goal is to ascend to divine heights -- but the black horse poses
problems. The chariot figure itself is just the beginning, however; it leads to a
revealing portrayal of the 'ups and downs' of the spiritual or philosophical life.
The myth itself is not Plato's--it was ancient even for him, perhaps coming from
Egypt or Mesopotamia--but he adapted and reworked it. It greatly surpasses Freud's
mechanistic ego/id/superego model.
Basically, the chariot Allegory describes the soul figuratively as a chariot, driven by a
charioteer, and powered by two horses: a noble white horse and an ignoble dark
one. It occurs in the context of an allegory in which the chariot attempts to rise
beyond the heavens, there to behold divine visions, but often doesn't succeed,
instead falling to earth. But there is a process by which it may ascend again.
A literal meaning by Plato seems unlikely. I shall propose three levels of
interpretation: (1) a Psychological Level, such that ascension and fall correspond to
the continuing effort to organize and recollect the personality or mind; (2) a level that
corresponds to the Contemplative Journey (Philosophical Level), with its
characteristic periods of progress and seeming setbacks--dark nights, aridity, and
feelings of abandonment; and (3) a more basic Religious Level that corresponds to
divination and salvation of the soul.
The Chariot
Plato first presents the image of the chariot, a composite figure: a charioteer, two
winged horses -- a noble white and an ignoble dark one -- and, by implication, the
chariot itself. This he explicitly calls a model of the human soul (or, to use a modern
psychological term, psyche; we here consider these terms equivalent; the modern
psychological term, in fact, is the Greek one: ). The individual components of
the model are not described in much detail, but since Plato considers the same basic
structure of the soul in the Republic, written about the same time, we have a good
idea as to his meaning.
As
Plato's
model
naturally
invites
comparison
with
Freud's
well-known
id/ego/superego system, that is a natural reference point. Plato, however, through
myth, is able to express both rational and extra-rational knowledge. Partly for this
reason, the two models, however, are as different as they are similar.
The Dark Horse
Of the two models, the most closely corresponding parts are the dark horse and
Freud's id. The dark horse corresponds to appetites, concupiscence, and bodily
desires and lusts. Beyond this much we need say little -- this soul element, and its
characteristic problems, is familiar enough, both experientially and at the religious
and cultural levels.
The horse is unruly and causes great problems for Plato's charioteer. But, as in
Freud's model, where it imparts energy or libido for general motivation of the psyche,
so here too it is needed to draw the chariot. What is required, then, is a training of
the horse -- the sublimation of Freud's system -- so that it provides properly-directed
energy.
The Charioteer
The charioteer, who drives the chariot and commands the horses, with special
attention needed to the unruly one, corresponds to the Freudian ego, which
manages conflict between the id and super-ego (the latter, to anticipate, roughly
corresponding to the white horse). However, unlike Freud's ego, which, in a sense,
evolves or develops in the psyche specifically to broker disputes between the id and
superego, Plato's charioteer has a more definite goal and destiny: to direct the
chariot to the heights of heaven and beyond, there to behold 'divine sights'.
In Plato's phylosophy, the charioteer is associated with Reason and the reasoning
element of the mind, and called logistikon, derived from the Greek word, logos.
The White Horse
The white horse stands for the element of the psyche associated courage, boldness,
heroism, 'spiritedness' and what some call the irascible. Call to mind the image of the
hero on the white charger. All the rich and varied myths and connotations associated
with a noble white steed apply.
This horse represents what is termed thumos in Plato's psychology. As indicated
above, it roughly corresponds to the Freudian super-ego; however this is the point of
greatest difference between the two models. In Freud's system, the super-ego
mostly plays counterbalance to the id; further, there is a tendency to regard the
superego as something learned -- a collective set of socialized rules of right-andwrong internalized by a developing child. In that sense, the superego and the id are
of different basic logical categories. In Plato's analogy, however, the white horse and
black horses are of the same logical order, and this is no doubt significant. Like the
black team-mate, the white horse is decidedly passionate, ambitious, energetic, and
goal-seeking. It imparts equal force or drive to the chariot. There is, though, a basic
asymmetry to the model, associated with the white horse's innate affinity for the
charioteer. Whereas the dark horse needs the whip, the white horse is commanded
by word alone.
Adapted from: Uebersax, John S. (2007). "Plato's Chariot Analogy". Online article. Retrieved from:
http://john-uebersax.com/plato/plato3.htm on February 20th, 2011.