Phaedrus gives the first speech connecting love and virtue, while Pausanias and Eryximachus further develop this argument afterward. In this first part of our guide, we’ll explain the main arguments of each speech regarding the benefits of love. Love as completion: Then, Aristophanes speaks on how love “completes” a person’s life.Love as virtue: Phaedrus, Pausanias, and Eryximachus begin by discussing what kind of love makes a person virtuous-in other words, what is the best and most moral way to love.The first four speeches of the dialogue focus on how love can benefit a person.
Our guide will explain who the Symposium’s major characters actually were and how this might inform philosophical ideas in the work.) Part 1: Early Speeches on Love’s Benefits Like most of Plato’s other dialogues, a majority of the Symposium’s characters are real people from fourth century BCE Athens. The form of dialogue allows Plato to add in intentional ambiguities and implied meanings not just through what is said, but also who says it, why they say it, and how they say it. (Shortform note: Like all of Plato’s works, the Symposium is a dialogue: A philosophical work written as a fictional conversation between characters. Diotima’s description of love (Socrates’s speech).Descriptions of the god of love (Agathon and Socrates’s speeches).Early speeches on love’s benefits (Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, and Aristophanes’s speeches).In this article, we’ll explore Plato’s Symposium on love in three parts: Their speeches and discussions quickly lead them to try and answer the question, “What is love?” Plato explores this question through the different characters in attendance, and in the process explains the connection between love and philosophy. Plato’s Symposium tells the story of a group of Athenian men at a party all giving speeches in praise of love. Symposium also provides insight into Plato’s views on happiness, education, and reproduction.īelow is a brief overview of Plato’s Symposium on love. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato addresses these questions and more in his Symposium, a work which claims that passionate desire, rather than cold and detached analysis, drives philosophy. What is love? How does love connect to philosophy? How can it lead to human happiness? Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Symposium" by Plato.
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