Symposium
Plato’s Symposium is a philosophical text about the true nature and purpose of love in 4th century BCE society. Love is analyzed from the perspective of several men at a symposium, and then restated by Plato in his own words and perspective.
The symposium consisted of diverse theories of love, which were mostly homosexual between two men, imitating commonality in Greece at this time. Pausanias, one of the attendees of the symposium, argues that love in itself is neither good nor bad, but defined simply by the properties and intentions of the relationship. Although Plato draws attention to a variety of interpretations of love, Pausanias’ view exploits deeper meaning towards the true essence of real love where pedagogical motives are crucial. Pausanias takes a hard stance on love compared to every other individual at the symposium by depicting that certain features of love that define it either as good or bad. Just like almost everything in life, love does have a dark side; Common Love. This type of love is defined by Pausanias as someone who is: attracted to the bodies rather than the minds of the people they love . . . [T]he reason they're attracted to the most unintelligent people imaginable* is that all they're …show more content…
The boy is only subject to proper love if he is eager to learn and if the lover wants to teach his beloved without the expectation of payment in return. This value can easily be seen in Symposium as Socrates, an older gentleman, is seen as a god in an instance, not because of his looks, but for his extensive knowledge that can be shared by simply being around him. The ideology of this process was that the more knowledge one had, contributed to better choices that brought true happiness. A higher level of virtue and knowledge created a deeper understanding of one’s self. If one better’s themselves, there is then no other goal in
Plato’s Symposium is a philosophical text about the true nature and purpose of love in 4th century BCE society. Love is analyzed from the perspective of several men at a symposium, and then restated by Plato in his own words and perspective.
The symposium consisted of diverse theories of love, which were mostly homosexual between two men, imitating commonality in Greece at this time. Pausanias, one of the attendees of the symposium, argues that love in itself is neither good nor bad, but defined simply by the properties and intentions of the relationship. Although Plato draws attention to a variety of interpretations of love, Pausanias’ view exploits deeper meaning towards the true essence of real love where pedagogical motives are crucial. Pausanias takes a hard stance on love compared to every other individual at the symposium by depicting that certain features of love that define it either as good or bad. Just like almost everything in life, love does have a dark side; Common Love. This type of love is defined by Pausanias as someone who is: attracted to the bodies rather than the minds of the people they love . . . [T]he reason they're attracted to the most unintelligent people imaginable* is that all they're …show more content…
The boy is only subject to proper love if he is eager to learn and if the lover wants to teach his beloved without the expectation of payment in return. This value can easily be seen in Symposium as Socrates, an older gentleman, is seen as a god in an instance, not because of his looks, but for his extensive knowledge that can be shared by simply being around him. The ideology of this process was that the more knowledge one had, contributed to better choices that brought true happiness. A higher level of virtue and knowledge created a deeper understanding of one’s self. If one better’s themselves, there is then no other goal in