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Plato's Symposium Analysis

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Plato's Symposium Analysis
9/20/2013
PHIL 203
Plato’s Symposium When most people think of love, they think of love between a man and woman, love between a father and son, mother and daughter, etc. Many do not think of love as a desire. However, Socrates, through his speech in Plato’s Symposium puts love in a different light. Plato’s Symposium examines the topic of love through the speeches of six men. These six men include Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Agathon, and Socrates. When first reading this text, I was very shocked at how pederasty was somewhat socially accepted and just thought that the men were talking about erotic/sexual love. And while some were just talking about sexual love, we are able to see that love encompasses so much more …show more content…
While these speeches just seem like a build-up to Socrates’ speech, they all have very valid points. Like many believed at that time, Phaedrus starts off saying “that Love was a great god, among men and gods a marvel” (178a). He believes that “Love is by various authorities allowed to be of most venerable standing; and as most venerable, he is the cause of all our highest blessings” (178c). The feeling of love, more than any other feeling, can guide us toward a good life. Phaedrus emphasizes the passionate love between a man and woman and that this love is better than any status, wealth, or pleasure in the …show more content…
Diotima says that instead of Love being a god, Love is “a great spirit…interpreting and transporting human things to the gods and divine things to men…the son of Resource and Poverty…and far from tender or beautiful as most suppose him…But he takes after his father in scheming for all that is beautiful and good…Love is a love directed to what is fair; so that Love must needs be a friend of wisdom, and, as such, must be between wise and ignorant” (202e-204b). Diotima in other words says that “love loves the good to be one’s own for ever” which means that love is a desire to possess the good forever(206a). Diotima goes on to say that love is expressed through the “bringing to birth”. Not just of the sexual love that brings to birth a baby, but of the reproduction of thoughts and knowledge. Lovers should love the “beauty of souls than on that of the body” (210b). According to the Symposium outline in the course booklet it says that “we should pass from the love of bodily beauty to the love of beautiful souls, to the love of sciences, and finally to the love of absolute beauty.” I believe that Socrates is the representation of this love that he talks about. Socrates is a lover/friend of wisdom and he schemes for all that is beautiful and good. He has no interest in sexual pleasure which can be seen in his relationship with
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