...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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...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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...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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...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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...deed, and action. Man has a tendency to prefer what is most pleasant for himself and he does not give a second thought as to the impact it has on his fellow man. This corruption of Eros can be documented back to the time of Socrates and has been a problem from even before then. We must come to terms with the fact that it is humanity that brings this upon themselves, and it is through our methods of childrearing, social interactions, politics and politicians, and technology that the following generations are being indoctrinated into this philosophy of...
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...In one of Plato's most influential original work The Symposium, he clearly expresses his view of the forms, love and beauty, through Socrates retelling a discussion he had once with Diotima at a symposium Agathon held. Plato believes love to be the possession of the good (Plato, 86) and its purpose is to eventually reproduce beauty, which he believes to be wisdom. This reproducing of beauty then leads to what Plato believed to be true immortality which is evident in the following quotation stated by the philosopher Diotima : Because giving birth is the eternal and immortal element in the mortal, and it's necessary to desire immortality along with the good, from what we've agreed—that love is for the good to be eternally one's own. So, really,...
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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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...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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...Research Paper on a Philosopher Plato Valerie Jenter Centenary College April 24, 2012 Abstract Many Philosophers made a difference in society but Plato is perhaps recognized as the most famous. His writings have had a profound effect on people, 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...
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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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...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, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. II. PHILOSOPHIES A. SOCRATES Socratic method Perhaps his most important contribution to Western thought is his dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to the examination of key moral concepts such as the Good and Justice. It was first described by Plato in the...
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...Running Head: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 1 The Philosophy of Socrates: A Lover of Wisdom (2052 Words) THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 2 The lessons of life that are delivered by Socrates act as a basis for Western philosophy. Plato, the writer of The Apology, significantly respects Socrates and his dialogues act as a framework for our understanding in the passages. Our only record of his life comes from his associates, as Socrates never documented his opinions. A clear expression of Socrates’ philosophy is represented in The Apology. The purpose of this paper is to establish a clear demonstration of Socrates’ philosophy using The Apology as reference, and also explain my personal view on philosophy. In the first section of this paper, the famous statement from Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living”, will be connected when explaining three principle components of his philosophy: Irony, Method and Ethos. The second section of this paper will reveal my personal view on philosophy. Rahut’s claim on philosophy being the study of “open questions” will be supported by examples and descriptions. In the case that a question cannot be accurately answered or proven with our existing knowledge, I demonstrate that it should be classified as an ‘open question’. Throughout section 17-18 of The...
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...Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology 1.0. The Background to Plato’s Metaphysics The author Silverman, Allan (2014) of this article titled Plato’s Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology wrote about how Plato first began to annotate his own points on metaphysics and epistemology. As we all knew, Plato’s definition of things are heavily influenced by his teachers Heraclitus (c.540 B.C.-480-70) Parmenides (c.515 B.C.-449-40) and especially Socrates (470 B.C-399). However only remnants of the writings of Heraclitus and Parmenides and also nothing left of Socrates. The only evidence that we ever had is Plato’s depiction of his teacher that is the dialog he wrote in his writings about Socrates’s views. Sometimes, it is as if it was Socrates’s writing not Plato because of the many things about Socrates he wrote. Some had said that it was his own views but instead he used Socrates as the speaker. This article also wrote about Plato’s predecessors’ views of the concept that influences his definition of Metaphysics and Epistemology which are Being and Forms. Firstly, Parmenides which he said there is one and only in this world and that is being. The truth is it never change and will never be. Sadly, there is not much we could conclude from Parmenides’s point of view. His concept of being has become Plato’s based of doctrine of Forms. As contrast to Parmenides’s definition of physical world, Heraclitus is the advocate of change. He said that the ordinary objects...
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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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...Apology Plato Published: -400 Categorie(s): Non-Fiction, Philosophy Source: http://en.wikisource.org 1 About Plato: Plato (Greek: Plátōn, "wide, broad-shouldered") (428/427 BC – 348/ 347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the second of the great trio of ancient Greeks –Socrates, Plato, originally named Aristocles, and Aris- totle– who between them laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Plato was also a mathematician, writer of philosophical dia- logues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world. Plato is widely believed to have been a student of Socrates and to have been deeply influenced by his teacher's unjust death. Plato's brilliance as a writer and thinker can be witnessed by reading his Socratic dialogues. Some of the dialogues, let- ters, and other works that are ascribed to him are considered spurious. Plato is thought to have lectured at the Academy, although the pedago- gical function of his dialogues, if any, is not known with certainty. They have historically been used to teach philosophy, logic, rhetoric, mathem- atics, and other subjects about which he wrote. Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks for Plato: • The Complete Plato (-347) • The Republic (-380) • Symposium(-400) • Charmides(-400) • Protagoras(-400) • Statesman(-400) • Ion(-400) • Crito(-400) • Meno(-400) • Phaedo(-400) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly...
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