...Practical Philosophy November 2001 Plato’s theory of Love: Rationality as Passion Lydia Amir 'I … profess to understand nothing but matters of love.' Socrates in Plato’s Symposium. times, when due to their education and to political changes, women earned the right to love and to be loved as equals to men. When one dispels these misunderstandings related to the popular notion of Platonic love, one finds a great richness and depth in Plato’s theory of love. In explaining why love is so important to us and yet why it fails us so often, Plato’s view of love seems applicable to our time. It is common knowledge that a very high rate of divorce threatens our marriages. We expect a lot from the sexual passion we call love, but usually end up disappointed when the romance goes away. Yet we keep getting married, thinking that we are going to be the ones that will beat the system. If we fail, we change our partner and try again. We end up our love life as we began it, confused, afraid and as disappointed as we were hopeful. The malaise that characterises our love lives naturally finds its way to the philosophical consulting room. In this paper I shall attempt to show how Plato’s view of love can be helpful both in dispelling our confusion about love and in proposing some solutions to our suffering. A comprehensive account of Plato’s complex theory of love, an exhaustive presentation of the controversies involved in interpreting it or a thorough discussion of the problems it creates...
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...Gradiene S. Tandoc Mariah Janey Vicente PLATO’S WORKS and WRITINGS Plato wrote extensively and most of his writings survived. His works are in the form of dialogues, where several characters argue a topic by asking questions of each other. Why do you think Plato choose this form of writing (dialogue)? These may be the possible reasons: 1. This form allows Plato to raise various points of view and let the reader decide which is valid. 2. The use of character and conversation allowed Plato to awaken the interest of his readers and therefore to reach a wider audience. 3. The dialogue form allows Plato's evident interest in pedagogical questions (how is it possible to learn? what is the best way to learn? from what sort of person can we learn? what sort of person is in a position to learn?) to be pursued not only in the content of his compositions but also in their form. 4. Plato evidently enjoys creating a sense of puzzlement among his readers, and the dialogue form is uniquely suited to this goal. CHRONOLOGY The exact order in which Plato's dialogues were written is not known, nor is the extent to which some might have been later revised and rewritten. However, there is enough information internal to the dialogues to form a rough chronology. The dialogues are normally grouped into three fairly distinct periods, with a few of them considered transitional works. The generally agreed upon modern ordering is as follows: early, middle, and late dialogues...
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...Platonic Love In the Symposium, which is normally dated at the beginning of the middle period, Plato introduces his theory of love. First thing to note is that in Plato’s theory, love is given and its existence is not questioned. The word love leaves the matter ambiguous as to whether we are discussing love in the normal, human, sense of the word, or if we are discussing desire in a much broader sense, but in this discussion we are only considering only love of type eros, love as a kind of desire that exists between two human beings. Symposium, is a dialogue by Plato, about a dinner party in honor of the tragedian Agathon, after they have finished eating Phaedrus suggests that each person in turn should make a speech about the praise of god of love. Symposium not only gives us theory of Forms in Diotima's discussion of the Form of Beauty, but it also gives us a number of varying perspectives on love. One more important thing to consider is that Diotima is not known to be a historical figure, and the way in which she is introduced suggests that she is almost certainly just a literary device developed by Plato to express his own ideas. In this theory, we see Plato rejecting the romanticization of sexual love, valuing above all an asexual and all-consuming passion for wisdom and beauty. Plato clearly regards actual physical or sexual contact between lovers as degraded and wasteful forms of erotic expression. Because the true goal of eros is real beauty and real beauty is...
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...It is believed that soul always seeks freedom from the sinful “flesh.” Both Socrates and Plato viewed “all forms of physical sexuality as inferior to abstinence in both essence and quality because it involves the body.” (Francoeur, p. 165) They proclaimed that sexual activity is harmful to the soul/mind’s health. The only perfection that exists is knowledge; it is the beauty of the mind and the beauty of the body. As discussed in the Plato’s Symposium, a man climbs a ladder from the love of one person, to the love of two, then he loves all the physical beauty, then beauty of human behavior, and eventually a man arrives to the branch of knowledge – nothing but ultimate beauty; only this way a man can understand what true beauty is. (Griffith, p....
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...Plato was born around the year 428 BC in Athens. His father died while Plato was young, and his mother remarried to Pyrilampes, in whose house Plato would grow up. Plato's birth name was Aristocles, and he gained the nickname Platon, meaning broad, because of his broad build. His family had a history in politics, and Plato was destined to a life in keeping with this history. He studied at a gymnasium owned by Dionysios, and at the palaistra of Ariston of Argos. When he was young he studied music and poetry. After the Peloponnesian War, his mother's brother and uncle tried to persuade him to join in the oligarchical rules of Athens. Instead, Plato joined his two older brothers in becoming a student of Socrates. The trio of Plato, Socrates (his teacher) and Aristotle (his student) they laid the fundamentals of Western philosophy. Socrates has a large influence of his thinking and teachings. Plato began his philosophical career under the guidance of Socrates. When Socrates died he traveled to Egypt and Italy studied in Pythagoras and then remained as an advisor for the rulers of Syracuse. When he returned to Athens around the age of forty, Plato founded a school in Athens, in a grove sacred to the demigod Academus, called the Academy, where he tried to impart the Socratic style of teaching to his students. It was, in effect, a university of higher learning, which included physical science, astronomy, and mathematics, as well as philosophy. In addition to presiding over the Academy...
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...In the Symposium, Plato presents many points on Love (Eros) which are laid out by different speakers in the honor of Agathon. Phaedrus, Aristodemus, Pausanias, Socrates, Agathon, Aristophanes and Eryximachus all dedicated their symposium to the understanding of love by giving their opinion of how a person should commend it. Near the ending of the speech by Socrates, a beautiful, wealthy and drunk Alcibiades enters the event. This triggers the beginning of Alcibiades speech of travesty, which is disguised in praise, reciting the “secret nature” of Socrates to the guests at hand. The purpose of adding Alcibiades’ speech at the end is to display the nuisance with social expectations for love and the inability to meet them. The character of Alcibiades is used to portray the tragic nature of good merit and the tragedy. He is unable to gain virtue through sexual relations, and there for is forced to remain mortal. The purpose of the speech at whole is to celebrate the fertility of heterosexual relationships and how they are justified in giving birth to children. Alcibiades wants to engage in a relationship with Socrates which in terms is a homosexual relationship. To justify homosexual relationships, they would have had to prove them as productive as a heterosexual relationship. Meaning if what a heterosexual relationship can justify through Diotima’s speech is a child and a relationship which can be carried on in the future has to be the same of what a homosexual relationship can...
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...Plato’s The Symposium is a philosophical text that concerns itself with the genesis, purpose, and nature of love. The explanations of love, given by the various men at the symposium, seem to largely be center around “Platonic love.” Platonic love to the men of The Symposium typically involved sexual relations with a young boy, in exchange for education in wisdom and virtues. Socrates in The Symposium best explains this notion of ‘platonic’ love. A platonic relationship today can be both hetero and homosexual, though today ‘platonic’ implies there are no sexual relations between the parties. I’ve also found that the dozen or so people in my life that I’m ‘platonically’ in love with and have never had sexual relations with (half of them of women, which doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it). But concerning the exchange of education in wisdom and virtue aspect of ‘platonic’ love in the The Symposium closely resemble the benefits of platonic love. Aristophones’ myth suggesting we were once all twice the people we are now, a very powerful people who threatened Zeus enough to point where he took action. Instead of killing these spherical creatures he decided it would be better to cripple them, chop them in half, separate the two bodies and not deprive himself of their devotions and offerings. Ever since that time, Aristophanes proclaims, people run around saying they are looking for their other half because they are really trying to recover their original nature. This explanation...
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...Response paper of Confessions Augustine outlines his sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity in Confessions, which is almost the earliest autobiography with deeply philosophical and theological thinking. He gives accounts of his faults to God genuinely and praises God with authenticity, along which he takes the chance to think about the origin of sins. In Book I, he narrates his observation on a little baby to explain that even very young children have the tendency of being selfish, when “he could not yet speak and, pale with jealousy and bitterness, glared at his brother sharing his mother’s milk.” It seems that the tendency towards self over others is rooted within our instinct. However, the selfishness during childhood is unthinking and is usually tolerated by people because “with coming of age it will pass away.” That is, when human enter early adolescence, they gradually gain the ability to understand what’s right or wrong and to ponder sin like adults do. While, it’s quite interesting that Augustine uses his story of stealing pears with peers to illustrate the fact that even if when human beings have clear knowledge of wrongdoing, they may still have those sinful behaviors possibly for some satisfactions. He states in Confessions: “wickedness filled me,” and “my desire was to enjoy not what I sought by stealing but merely the excitement of thieving and the doing of what was wrong.” (Book II) This thought by Augustine indicates that...
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...What is Love? A Conceptual Analysis of "Love", focusing on the Love Theories of Plato, St. Augustine and Freud Nico Nuyens GRIPh Working Papers No. 0901 This paper can be downloaded without charge from the GRIPh Working Paper Series website: http//www.rug.nl/filosofie/GRIPh/workingpapers What is love? A Conceptual Analysis of “Love”, focusing on the Love Theories of Plato, St. Augustine and Freud CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1. FORMAL ANALYSIS OF LOVE............................................................................... 3 2. SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF LOVE........................................................................... 6 3. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF LOVE....................................................................... 9 3.1 ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY: PLATO ..................................................................... 11 3.2 CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY: SAINT AUGUSTINE............................................................ 18 3.3 MODERN PHILOSOPHY: FREUD ................................................................................. 27 4. COMPARATIVE EVALUATION............................................................................ 37 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................. 40 REFERENCES....................................................................
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...Forms of Love in Plato's Symposium Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered as a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies or music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being. In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts. As the last speaker, and the most important one, Socrates connects his ideas with Diotima of Mantinea’s story of Love’s origin, nature and purpose. Different from the earlier five speakers who regard Love as an object and praise different sides of it, Socrates, referring to Diotima’s idea, considers Love as a pursuit of beauty gradually from “physical beauty of people in general” (Symposium, Plato, 55) to the “true beauty” (55). The first five speeches bond with each other. Each of them mentions the opinions of the former one in order to either support or against them. However, just like the elements...
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...Alcibiades In Plato’s Symposium, multiple accounts of love (eros) are told with many different interpretations to the idea of love itself. Most significantly, the reader sees Plato rejecting the romanticism of sexual love, valuing above all else an asexual and all-consuming passion for wisdom and beauty. Mainly, he determines that the philosopher’s search for wisdom is the most valuable of all pursuits. In the Symposium, he values philosophy, as he shows with the voice of Socrates, over a number of other arts which are prearranged as points of comparison. For example, medicine, as shown by Eryximachus (who is a doctor and guest at the symposium), comedy, as shown by Aristophanes (an ancient comic poet and guest), and tragedy, as shown by Agathon (who invited everyone to partake in this symposium as he is celebrating his first victory in the dramatic festival). Socrates seems to be the last person to really give an account of eros in this story, as well as discussing the most important account of love that was given to him by Diotima. This account slowly puts together the puzzle-piece-like tellings of everyone at this symposium, leading to one final truth about love: that what one must try to do is ascend from loving particular kinds of beauty, as everyone described, to loving Beauty itself. Now, Socrates’ rendition of Diotima’s account seems to end the symposium. But this is not the case as Alcibiades shows up, making a less than sober appearance to the group. Alcibiades...
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...politics, and the philosophy throughout the centuries. He was a public figure and he made major contributions to society. Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of modern culture through his ideas and writings. One of the most philosophical thinkers of Western civilization, Plato is the only author from ancient Greek times whose writings survive intact. His collection consists of thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, though the authorship of some is contested. Plato was born in Athens, into a prosperous aristocratic family. His Father’s name was Ariston and his Mother’s name was Perictione. His relative named Glaucon was one of the best-known members of the Athenian nobility. Plato's name was Aristocles, his nickname Plato originates from wrestling circles, Plato means broad, and it probably refers either to his physical appearance or his wrestling style. “Plato is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy,” (Kraut, 2009). Plato was born during the Golden Age of Athens’s which saw the birth of classical architecture, drama, arts and politics. However, as he was growing up he observed the decline of Athens as a cultural center. He witnessed instances of cruelty, disloyalty, and dishonesty and it was in clear violation of his values. It was also during this time...
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...Plato was a philosopher from Greece who lived from 424BC until the time of his death in 347BC. Plato belonged to an aristocratic and influential lineage. His father was Artiston, a descent of king Dorus of Athens. Plato’s mother was Peritonea from a lineage of famous lawmakers and poets in Athens. Plato was, however, raised with difficulty after his father died. As a student, Plato studied under the guidance of his teacher, Socrates. Plato played an essential role of laying the foundation for western philosophy and science. Socrates taught Plato about basic philosophy and dialectic methods of inquiry in the quest for truth. The basic learning acquired form Plato formed a basis from where Plato established his philosophies (Benjamin, 2007). During the time of Plato, there are many events that took place. Amongst them is the Peloponnesian war. The war lasted for approximately 27 years i.e. from 431BC to 404 BC. The Peloponnesian war was a war fought by Athens and Sparta. As a result of the war, the Athenian imperial system and Greek military history was changed. The powers of Athens were subdued after the war as Sparta took over as a leading state whose powers were felt all across Greece. In 399BC Plato witnessed his teacher, Socrates, being tried and executed by the authorities in Athens. Socrates was charged for corrupting the minds of youths. Socrates was despised by the authority because of his persistency in criticizing the government established after...
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...Socrates Philosopher Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, Wikipedia “Personal background” Born: 469 BC, Athens, Greece Died:399 BC, Athens, Greece Full name: Socrates Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Classical Greek Main interests: Epistemology, ethics Notable idea: SocraticMethod, Socratic irony Influenced: Most subsequent Western philosophy; more specifically, Plato, Aristotle, Aristippus, Antisthenes Spouse:Xanthippe Children:Menexenus, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus Aristotle Philosopher Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great “Personal background” Born: 384 BC Stagira, Chalcidice Died: 322 BC (aged 61 or 62) Euboea Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Peripatetic schoolAristotelianism Main interests: Physics, Metaphysics, Poetry, Theatre, Music, Rhetoric, Politics, Government, Ethics, Biology, and Zoology Notable ideas: Golden mean, Aristotelian logic, syllogism, hexis, homomorphism, Aristotle's theory of soul Plato Philosopher Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western...
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...I. DEFINITION OF ETHICS Rushworth Kidder states that "standard definitions of ethics have typically included such phrases as 'the science of the ideal human character' or 'the science of moral duty' ". Ethics, sometimes known as philosophical ethics, ethical theory, moral theory, and moral philosophy, is a branch ofphilosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct, often addressing disputes of moral diversity. The term comes from the Greek word ἠθικός ethikos from ἦθος ethos, which means "custom, habit". The superfield within philosophy known as axiology includes both ethics and aesthetics and is unified by each sub-branch's concern with value. Philosophical ethics investigates what is the best way for humans to live, and what kinds of actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances. Ethics may be divided into three major areas of study: * Meta-ethics, about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their truth values (if any) may be determined * Normative ethics, about the practical means of determining a moral course of action * Applied ethics draws upon ethical theory in order to ask what a person is obligated to do in some very specific situation, or within some particular domain of action (such as business) Related fields are moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory. Ethics seeks to resolve questions dealing with human morality—concepts such as good and evil...
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