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Plato's Symposium

1162 Words5 Pages

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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325 Words | 2 Pages

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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Compares The Written Speech To A Painting At Phaedrus 275d?

909 Words | 4 Pages

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1728 Words | 7 Pages

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502 Words | 3 Pages

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1343 Words | 6 Pages

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594 Words | 3 Pages

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919 Words | 4 Pages

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1134 Words | 5 Pages

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700 Words | 3 Pages

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1595 Words | 7 Pages

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1365 Words | 6 Pages

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