Cato Plato was a famous Greek philosopher born in 425 BC. He lived to the age of 80 and is known for writing dialogues and founding the world’s first university. He concluded man can be divided into body and soul. And that once life is over, the soul moves on while the body remains. This concept inspired much of Christianity and Western values. And though Plato was a great guy, he made no assignment for personality. Is it body or soul?
Personality
Back then, people didn’t know much about chromosomes. As a matter of fact, they knew little of science. But they could have figured out what social scientists know today, that personality is made up of two parts—one big and one little. The big (outer self) is our auto-pilot, acting out pre-programmed responses to everyday events. It’s the personality we’re born with that gets shaped by nurture. Psychologists label this the elephant because it’s large and somewhat animal. Others call it the external self.
The little is what we use to think. It observes and makes conclusions. “People are like this.” “Dogs are like that.” Also called our conscious self, its job is to make us smarter. But it too, has a couple pieces: one that feeds the elephant (influences outer selves) and one that feeds the soul. So it goes like this:
Soul ⇦ Conscious Self ⇨ Outer Self — Body
Outer self
Truth is we’re trapped within our selves. Along with body, these are what you enter the world with. Yes, you can make small changes, but most personal traits stay the same. So if you’re a loudmouth or shy, happy or miserable—we are who we are. But again, there are rules. Our conscious selves can make subtle changes. You’ll retain the same temperament and sense of humour but one can fix attitudes toward any number of things—all by using concentration. That’s why people meditate. They sit and focus, hoping their auto-pilots will eventually get the message. And sometimes they do.
This is why upbringing is so important and why it should include a little discipline. Just think of why we train kids into knowing please and thank you. We’re civilizing the buggers. You also see this with dieters trying to change their regular order at a restaurant. They’ll practice saying “no cheese and just water” until it becomes habit—all by using focus and concentration. But again, this only goes so far. You have little control over outer personality. (Just listen to yourself speak.)
Feeding the soul
Okay, so if soul is what goes with me (or is me), how should I nourish it? Besides a few recipes, Plato said all you take with you is knowledge and a little culture. And because the bum didn’t define inner and outer selves, let’s assume he meant what you’ve felt, what you’ve been taught, and what you’ve figured out for yourself. So there are a number of ways.
Feeding the soul means living life. Some methods are simple like listening to sounds, absorbing a story, or witnessing nature. They also come from overcoming a challenge that took tremendous amounts of effort. But they don’t come from watching Netflix. They’re mostly from things you’ve seen, people you’ve met, and stuff you’ve done.
Summary
Philosophers are funny because they just sit around and think. One guy said man is like an animal. I already knew this from watching my relatives eat. It’s not rocket science.
Plato said we’re body and soul, this too isn’t profound. You could have arrived at the same conclusion. Then psychologists devised the two parts of personality. Again, no big brain storm. What is brilliant is remembering this from time to time and not taking oneself too seriously. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the best of life. Just spend some time with your thoughts.