Human, soul and civilization in Plato and Freud

Human life and actions are always discussed as one of the most prominent topics in intellectual history. Such that, determining what kind of a living being the human is essential for understanding the social life and evaluating the civilization established by humanity. Therefore, many thinkers have tried to explain human behaviour, in this context have produced thoughts on the human soul. Plato thinks that man can live in harmony in society, despite his drives and desires. Freud, on the other hand, thinks that man is a creature who is selfish by nature and has no other purpose than to achieve pleasure. He defines civilization as a structure that limits people, forces them to suppress their drives and creates discontent. Despite this, both thinkers created very close psychic structures to explain human beings and made similar explanations when it comes to the reasons that bring civilization together and enable it to develop. The aim of this study is to examine Plato and Freud's thoughts on human and soul, to determine their similarities and differences, and to compare the civilization designs reached based on these views.