Photo by Rex Pickar on Unsplash
What does it mean to live a flourishing life?
What is the best way to live and how to attain excellence?
Humanity has grappled with these questions through mythology, storytelling, religion, and philosophy for thousands of years. Few men have provided keener insights into the answers than the philosophers of ancient Greece. Plato, in particular, has presented us with a simple allegory to illustrate how self-control and the pursuit of moral and intellectual excellence lead to human flourishing.
The allegory of the chariot by Plato is a metaphorical representation of the human soul or psyche. Plato (through his mouthpiece, Socrates) describes the soul as a chariot being driven by two winged horses. One horse is white and spirited, symbolizing the Greek concept of "thumos", which can be interpreted as the stimulus, the drive, or what gives us the energy to action. This White horse represents our noble aspirations and moral virtues, such as courage, wisdom, and justice. The other horse is described as dark, deformed, and obstinate, and symbolizes our base desires or appetites, such as lust, greed, and anger. The charioteer, representing Reason, must guide and harness the horses to propel the chariot steadily and efficiently toward the ridge of heaven, the ideal realm of Truth and Beauty.
On this trip to the heavens, the charioteer joins a procession of gods, led by Zeus. The challenge to the charioteer is to keep the winged horses in sync as, while the white horse wishes to rise, the dark horse pulls the chariot back towards the earth. As the horses pull in opposing directions, and the charioteer attempts to guide them, the chariot sways above the ridge of heaven, then down again, and the charioteer catches glimpses of the great heavens beyond before sinking once more.
In Plato's allegory, the charioteer needs to understand the nature and desires of the two horses to properly harness their energies and successfully reach the destination. A masterful charioteer understands that each horse has its strengths and weaknesses, and lets Reason rule and guide them towards the final destination. What is interesting in Plato's allegory is that the White horse can lead the chariot into the wrong path just as the Dark horse can, but when properly trained, the White horse becomes the ally of the charioteer. Together, reason and thumos work to pull the appetites into sync.
Plato believed reason has the highest aims, followed by virtues (thumos), and then the appetites. But each soul force, if properly harnessed and employed, can help one achieve eudaimonia, the condition of human flourishing or of living well. The allegory of the chariot highlights the importance of self-control and balance in the pursuit of moral and intellectual excellence toward a good life.
I wonder what Plato would say if he got a glimpse of our modern society. Would he smile and nod at humans mastering the chariot of their lives? Or would he sit and weep in despair? I think Plato would most likely be perplexed, staring at modern humans, not even recognizing what was made of his allegory.
In our modern society, the spirited White horse got one of his wings cut off and is undergoing re-education therapy for having oppressed and forced the less-abled Dark horse to meet his high standards. While the Dark horse runs completely wild, the White horse is being administered Adderall so it can focus on walking straight instead of galloping towards heaven and pulling the chariot up so high. After all, there is no need to travel to the ridge of heaven anymore, as one's truth and beauty can be found down here on earth with the Man in the Mirror. As for the chariot, it has been upgraded to a self-driving Tesla, and the charioteer thrown out of the window - as the AI knows better than Reason where to lead us.
Well done. Well done.