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Plato's Symposium

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Through the speakers presented in Symposium, Plato showcases a variety of viewpoints about the essence, worth, and expression of love. Though it can be argued that Plato suggests that love is determined by how an individual chooses to interpret it, I will be arguing that there is a difference between true love and false love. These differences in quality of love can be seen through the ideas expressed in Pausanias’ speech, Eryximachus’ speech, and finally, Diotima’s speech. I would like to note that though these three speeches highlight the differences in forms of love, they all have different definitions on what those forms are and how they should be expressed. Pausanias’ speech In his speech, Pausanias explains the difference between two …show more content…

He further highlights this point when he says that it is his responsibility as a physician to rid a person of the false love while accepting and providing them with true love. Though both speakers have different viewpoints on what can be loved, they agree that there is a true or false love. Through the points made by these speakers, Plato is seen shifting from the idea that love is up to the individual, and moves towards the idea that there are established interpretations of love and one is true while the other is …show more content…

Towards the end of her speech, she introduces the idea of a ladder of love. She explains that near the bottom step of the ladder, a person starts to love one person and begins to love the beautiful qualities the find in them. After this, the person comes to the realization that since what they love in that person are these beautiful qualities, they can find these qualities in all beautiful people. This takes them up the ladder from loving one beautiful person to loving all beautiful people. To move higher up on the ladder, the person will begin to love the beauty found in souls than the beauty found in physical people. It is extremely hard to get to the top step of the ladder, because it requires the person to have a complete appreciation and love for the beautiful qualities and ideas. “To love one single body and beget there beautiful discourses; next, to recognize that the beauty on anybody whatever is akin to that on any other body, and if it is necessary to pursue the beautiful as it attaches to form, it is quite unreasonable to believe that the beauty on all bodies is not one and the same.” (155,

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In the speech of Diotima, she questions Socrates way of looking at love, Socrates said that love was something beautiful and good. Diotima describes love as needing happiness in order to have that love fulfilled; She thinks that happiness comes when one has beautiful and good things around them. Diotima describes love at the beginning of her speech, she says love was born when Aphrodite was born, Diotima also says that love is hardship and overcoming that hardship is what brings happiness to ones life. Love is described as a person, a person who has needs and desires, a person who is smart and always on the look out for opportunities. She always describes Love or Eros as being neither mortal or immortal, Love or as it is personified is the

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One Goal, Two Journeys-The Hobbit and Rendezvous When reading the “Hobbit” and “Rendezvous”, we can see many similarities and differences between the hero's journeys. Although they share the same goal, to regain the land to its rightful owner, they approached their conflicts and journeys differently. When comparing the two journeys an interesting quote came to mind, "In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike" (Davey Tree). This is similar to the two stories of “The Hobbit” and “Rendezvous”, where Thorin and Mr.Wagamese share the same goal, but, Thorin was more aggressive and worked with a team whereas Mr.Wagamese was calm and worked independently.

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Many see love as a positive quality and for the most part it is. It gives us compassion for our fellow man, allows us to bond with each other, and care for our families. But it also has self-destructive properties too. In Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians feel a really strong patriotism to their city and empire.

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Socrates’ first speech is a better rendition Lysias’s argument. Rather than presenting the benefits of the non-lover, Socrates notes the cons of the lover. Eros or love is a form of madness in which the desire or lust for physical or in this case superficial beauty overpowers the pursuit of truth. The Socrates’ second speech overshadows the previous two speeches in style, length, and content. The most important ideas derive from the Great Speech or the Socrates’ second speech.

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Katie Valentine Professor Seth Martin English 102 5 March 2024 Toulmin Analysis and an Addition to the Symposium The Symposium written by Plato is a collection of many speeches given on love. The speech given by Aristophanes was the one I was most interested in and curious about. His speech was distinctly different from the others, and it created a comedic yet still serious claim while looking at the history of love, creating a comedic yet still serious masterpiece. The Toulmin method helped in analyzing Aristophanes' speech and when writing a speech of my own on the same topic.

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Plato creates an interesting character to his work, Symposium, with the addition of Diotima. Diotima is the only woman introduced during the all-male symposium and there is an essential understanding of life that comes from her being a woman. Symposiums that were held during the time of ancient Greece were strictly for males and their ideas. Women had no place, except for decoration.  Plato choosing to add a female figure is out of the ordinary and quite surprising.

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The language in Plato’s symposium and the expression of Sappho’s poetry are similar in that they both deal with homoerotic love. Sappho, the only ancient Greek female author whose work survived, talks from the female point of observation, where as Plato’s work concentrates on the idea of love among males. In spite of the fact that both of their points of view are comparative in courses, for example, their thoughts of physical fascination and want, Plato’s work creates a better understanding of the nature of love then Sappho’s ideas. This understanding will be shown with three arguments and counter- arguments in order to demonstrate the dominance of Plato over Sappho. It will than be concluded with an overview of the main idea and a recap of the three arguments made for Plato.

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Once the choses his lover he must comply with the elder man, catering to the demands. Plato see’s that everyone has this desire or want to love. He states that since birth we have always been in a continuous search for the thing that satisfy our needs

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“Plato Apology” relates the trial of Socrates (469-399) B.C.E known as the father of Western Philosophy. Socrates, a son of sculpture and the midwife had a queer with most Athenians due to his point of view on values and beliefs. Charged with impiety and corrupting the Youth, Socrates’ defends himself by persuading the jury of his innocence with tangible reasons which made his arguments effective.

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In Plato’s Symposium, Aristophanes story is very unique to why we have partners. Aristophanes story is like an old fable. It begins with three sexes all body’s had 2 heads,4 arms, 4 legs and two sets of genitals. These beings were very powerful could move very quickly in all directions and would spin using their circular bodies. Men came from the sun, women came from earth and the third gender came from the moon.

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All of the speakers speeches about love in the Symposium are important because they each have a unique idea to contribute about what is love and the idea of love. One of the speakers, Pausanias goes after Phaedrus’ speech. When it is his turn to speak he present his speech about love as not a single thing and therefore we shouldn’t praise it since there is more than one. Pausanias states that there are two kinds of love, he claims that since “there are two kinds of Aphrodite, there must also be two loves” (Symposium 13). The first Aphrodite is called Uranian or Heavenly Aphrodite since she is the daughter of Uranus, she is the oldest and has no mother.

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Friendship is an important part of the human life that guides human existence that guides how two humans in mutual understanding and relationship relate to each other. Nehamas and Woodruff (1989) provide Aristotle's description of friendship; that is goodwill that is reciprocated. Friendship is a phenomenon that happens every day in life amongst human beings with people falling in and out of friendship. There exist various kinds of friendships that are founded upon various needs, relations, and reasons. The source of the reciprocated goodwill brings the difference between perfect or complete friendships and imperfect or incomplete friendships.

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Part A- Socrates In thinking of Socrates we must recognize that what we have is four secondhand sources depicting him. That of Plato, Xenophanes, Aristophanes, and Aristotle. All having radically different accounts on Socrates and his views. Out of all them we consider Plato’s to be the most possible account, even though we face a problem of different versions of Socrates.

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The various ideologies of love mentioned by speakers in Plato’s Symposium portrayed the social and cultural aspect of ancient Greece. In the text, there were series of speeches given by Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Socrates, and Agathon about the idea of love, specifically the effect and nature of Eros. Within the speakers, Agathon’s speech was exceptional in that his speech shifted the focus of the audience from effect of Eros on people, to the nature and gifts from the Eros. Despite Agathon’s exceptional remarks about Eros, Socrates challenged Agathon’s characterization of Eros through utilization of Socratic Method.

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Socrates is quoted as stating, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living” (38 a). Socrates was a founding figure of western philosophy, and a stable for many ideas. He lived in Athens, Greece teaching his students, like Plato, questioning politics, ethical choices, and many other things in Greek society. In the Trial and death of Socrates: Four Dialogues by Plato, it explores the abstract questioning Socrates had towards many of the normal social properties, which led to his trial, resulting in his death. The most important aspects discussed in the dialogues is the questioning of what is pious and impious, what it means to be wise, and good life.

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