This paper explores neuropsychological evidence for Plato’s philosophical theory of the tripartite soul as explained in Plato’s Republic. Plato contends that an express relationship of the three elements that make-up the soul (reason, appetitive, and spirit) interact to promote just behavior, and that just behavior is optimal for individual and societal well-being. Specifically, just behavior is considered to arise from reason’s oversight of the other two elements. Apparent in this theory is the proximity Plato’s analysis has with the current psychological understanding of cognitions that activate behaviors. Strack and Deutsch’s (2004) 2-system model of reflective and impulsive processing, with the addition of Wiers and Stacy’s (2006) supplementary moderators of emotion and motivation, display evidence that Plato’s theory has footing in psychological theory
