A.
Summarize Phaedrus’, Pausanias’, Eryximachus’, Aristophanes’ and
Agathon’s view on the nature of love in Plato’s Symposium. Be
clear and complete as to the essentials of each view.
Phaedrus had a few different ways to talk about love. He
used many ways to convey the way he views love. He starts his speech
with describing the god of love. He says that this is the oldest of
the gods and one of the greatest. He also goes on to explain that love
is a supernatural force which helps people to do better things.
“Thus numerous are
the witnesses who acknowledge Love to be the eldest of the gods. And
not only is he the eldest, he is also the source of the greatest
benefits to us. For I know not any greater blessing to a young man who
is beginning life than a virtuous lover or to the lover than a beloved
youth. For the principle which ought to be the guide of men who would
nobly live at principle, I say, neither kindred, nor honour, nor
wealth, nor any other motive is able to implant so well as love.” (1)
Love
makes people that once were ugly into someone beautiful and someone
who was dishonorable, a very honorable person. When a person becomes
this way, they will do anything for their beloved, even putting their
own life on the line to save the life of the other. Phaedrus says that
nothing in the world can compare to the love that two people can
share.
“ For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind
than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away
his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than
endure this. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour
of danger? The veriest coward would become an inspired hero, equal to
the bravest, at such a time; Love would inspire him. That courage
which, as Homer says, the god breathes into the souls of some heroes,
Love of his own nature infuses into the lover.” (Symposium178A-180B)
(2)
Phaedrus concludes this
speech to the group with a very strong line in which he thinks sums up
the whole view on love: “Thus then I say, that of the gods Love is
at once oldest, and most precious, and has most power to provide
virtue and happiness from mankind, both living and dead.”
(Symposium) With this he says that without love then there can be no
happiness to man. It has powers that no other god possesses to give.
The next person to speak
that day was Pausanias. He says that was broken down into two types.
He said that “for the performance of every action is, in itself,
neither beautiful nor ugly. When it is done well and rightly, it is
beautiful, but when not rightly done, it is ugly.” (Symposium)He is
saying that love can be something that is honorable and virtuous but
it can also be something painful and unjust.
Pausanias says that love can be something that can be seen as ugly and
dishonorable. If it is not handled correctly, it can be something that
can destroy people and their relationships. But on the other hand, he
says, that if it is done right then it can be upheld.
He
gave another example of how love can be ugly if not done in a
beautiful manner. He says that if a person loves the body but not the
soul, the love will not last. If it is done for strictly the want or
desire of power, wealth, etc, then the love is meaningless and is not
really genuine. You will gratify what is not really there and
therefore you are loving nothing. You are simply “a slave to your
beloved” and have no virtue.
“And this is the reason
why, in the first place, a hasty attachment is held to be
dishonorable, because time is the true test of this as of most other
things; and secondly there is a dishonor in being overcome by the love
of money, or of wealth, or of political power, whether a man is
frightened into surrender by the loss of them, or, having experienced
the benefits of money and political corruption, is unable to rise
above the seductions of them. For none of these things are of a
permanent or lasting nature; not to mention that no generous
friendship ever sprang from them. There remains, then, only one way of
honourable attachment which custom allows in the beloved, and this is
the way of virtue; for as we admitted that any service which the lover
does to him is not to be accounted flattery or a dishonour to himself,
so the beloved has one way only of voluntary service which is not
dishonourable, and this is virtuous service.” (3)
He also explains that if one gratifies the other for being good and
virtuous, then the other will be compelled to do the same. They will
care for one another just because the other feels the same. This is
the" beautiful kind of love”. It is rightly done, therefore it is
beautiful.
“And on the same principle he who gives himself to a lover
because he is a good man, and in the hope that he will be improved by
his company, shows himself to be virtuous, even though the object of
his affection turn out to be a villain, and to have no virtue; and if
he is deceived he has committed a noble error. For he has proved that
for his part he will do anything for anybody with a view to virtue and
improvement, than which there can be nothing nobler. Thus noble in
every case is the acceptance of another for the sake of virtue. This
is that love which is the love of the heavenly godess, and is
heavenly, and of great price to individuals and cities, making the
lover and the beloved alike eager in the work of their own
improvement. But all other loves are the offspring of the other, who
is the common goddess.” (4)
Eryximachos also claims that there are two types of love but he said
that there need to be more emotional. He believes that the love is
more on a spiritual level. For this love to exist, two total opposites
need to coincide with each other so there is a balance. The examples
he uses are of the most extreme, but without one, you can not have the
other. ou need them both in order to exist.
“There are in the human
body these two kinds of love, which are confessedly different and
unlike, and being unlike, they have loves and desires which are
unlike; and the desire of the healthy is one, and the desire of the
diseased is another; and as Pausanias was just now saying that to
indulge good men is honourable, and bad men dishonourable:-so too in
the body the good and healthy elements are to be indulged, and the bad
elements and the elements of disease are not to be indulged, but
discouraged.” (5)
“Now the: most hostile are
the most opposite, such as hot and cold, bitter and sweet, moist and
dry, and the like. And my ancestor, Asclepius, knowing how-to implant
friendship and accord in these elements, was the creator of our art,
as our friends the poets here tell us, and I believe them; and not
only medicine in every branch but the arts of gymnastic and husbandry
are under his dominion.” (6)
Eryximachos uses things of nature also to show how opposites need each
other
to exist. He uses this to show that without this kind of love, things
will
not grow and flourish to become what they are.
“hey bring to men,
animals, and plants health and plenty, and do them no harm; whereas
the wanton love, getting the upper hand and affecting the seasons of
the year, is very destructive and injurious, being the source of
pestilence, and bringing many other kinds of diseases on animals and
plants; for hoar-frost and hail and blight spring from the excesses
and disorders of these elements of love, which to know in relation to
the revolutions of the heavenly bodies and the seasons of the year is
termed astronomy.” (7)
He also says that love has the best power known to man. This will
cause man to do what is right and virtuous.
“Such is the great and
mighty, or rather omnipotent force of love in general. And the love,
more especially, which is concerned with the good, and which is
perfected in company with temperance and justice, whether among gods
or men, has the greatest power, and is the source of all our happiness
and harmony, and makes us friends with the gods who are above us, and
with one another.” (8)
Aristophanes view of love was a bit different. He says that this is
attributed to the gods. He showed that love was something that was
mythological. He does not dispute the stories that the other men told,
but says that Zeus enforced law and punishment on his people. People
were split in half and spent their lives searching for “their other
half”. He explained how man came to be at first but had become victims
of Zeus’ wrath.
“At last, after a good
deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He said: "Methinks I have a
plan which will humble their pride and improve their manners; men
shall continue to exist, but I will cut them in two and then they will
be diminished in strength and increased in numbers; this will have the
advantage of making them more profitable to us. They shall walk
upright on two legs, and if they continue insolent and will not be
quiet, I will split them again and they shall hop about on a single
leg." He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved
for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair; and as he cut
them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of
the neck a turn in order that the man might contemplate the section of
himself: he would thus learn a lesson of humility.” (9)
He also says that we are not two but one, for if the relationship is
to be, the two should be unified and become one. This gives us the
term that we use today known as “soul mate”.
This
is something that is so special, that you should never want to be
apart from this other person. You should never feel this level of love
with anyone else but this person.
“And when one of them
meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a
lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an
amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of
the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment: these are the
people who pass their whole lives together; yet they could not explain
what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each
of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of
lover's intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either
evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark
and doubtful presentiment. Suppose Hephaestus, with his instruments,
to come to the pair who are lying side, by side and to say to them,
"What do you people want of one another?" they would be unable to
explain. And suppose further, that when he saw their perplexity he
said: "Do you desire to be wholly one; always day and night to be in
one another's company? for if this is what you desire, I am ready to
melt you into one and let you grow together, so that being two you
shall become one, and while you live a common life as if you were a
single man, and after your death in the world below still be one
departed soul instead of two-I ask whether this is what you lovingly
desire, and whether you are satisfied to attain this?"-there is not a
man of them who when he heard the proposal would deny or would not
acknowledge that this meeting and melting into one another, this
becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of his ancient
need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we
were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love.”
(10)
Agathon looks at love through different eyes. He simply says that love
has to be beautiful because love is a god. If it is a god, then it
MUST be beautiful. Gods would not do something that is ugly. He also
says that everyone should thank the god of love, for this god makes
desire and pleasure possible. He is the “Master” and all the other
gods are no match for him.
“The previous
speakers, instead of praising the god Love, or unfolding his nature,
appear to have congratulated mankind on the benefits which he confers
upon them. But I would rather praise the god first, and then speak of
his gifts; this is always the right way of praising everything. May I
say without impiety or offence, that of all the blessed gods he is the
most blessed because he is the fairest and best? And he is the
fairest: for, in the first place, he is the youngest, and of his youth
he is himself the witness, fleeing out of the way of age, who is swift
enough, swifter truly than most of us like:-Love hates him and will
not come near him; but youth and love live and move together-like to
like, as the proverb says.” (11)
B. In the passage 201d-212c in the Symposium, Socrates presents
Diotima’s instruction on the nature of love and the ascent of the soul
to a truer love and understanding of knowledge. Describe how this
passage about love represents Plato’s key philosophical ideas.
Now it is Socrates’ turn to talk He decides to tell the story that
Diotima told him about love. Socrates looked for her to help him
understand the concepts of love and its true meaning. He never claimed
to know that he was an expert on this subject, so he told the men what
she taught him. Plato’s main outlook on life was simple. His main
three keys for philosophy were goodness, truth and beauty. He thought
that these were the keys to a “good” life. Diotima uses these concepts
to teach Socrates what true love is. Socrates said “that love is
beautiful therefore it is good”. She in turn shows him that this is
not necessarily true and gives him examples why this rule does not
always apply. She shows him that beauty is only skin deep and
sometimes there can be more that what meets the eye.
“For you may say generally
that all desire of good and happiness is only the great and subtle
power of love; but they who are drawn towards him by any other path,
whether the path of money-making or gymnastics or philosophy, are not
called lovers -the name of the whole is appropriated to those whose
affection takes one form only-they alone are said to love, or to be
lovers." "I dare say," I replied, "that you are right." "Yes," she
added, "and you hear people say that lovers are seeking for their
other half; but I say that they are seeking neither for the half of
themselves, nor for the whole, unless the half or the whole be also a
good. And they will cut off their own hands and feet and cast them
away, if they are evil; for they love not what is their own, unless
perchance there be some one who calls what belongs to him the good,
and what belongs to another the evil.” (12)
Diotima also tells Socrates what she considers true love. She tells
him that beauty is just a stepping stone to true love but is not the
main essence for what one should base their love upon.
"He who has been instructed thus far in the things of love, and
who has learned to see the beautiful in due order and succession, when
he comes toward the end will suddenly perceive a nature of wondrous
beauty (and this, Socrates, is the final cause of all our former
toils)-a nature which in the first place is everlasting, not growing
and decaying, or waxing and waning; secondly, not fair in one point of
view and foul in another, or at one time or in one relation or at one
place fair, at another time or in another relation or at another place
foul, as if fair to some and-foul to others, or in the likeness of a
face or hands or any other part of the bodily frame, or in any form of
speech or knowledge, or existing in any other being, as for example,
in an animal, or in heaven or in earth, or in any other place; but
beauty absolute, separate, simple, and everlasting, which without
diminution and without increase, or any change, is imparted to the
ever-growing and perishing beauties of all other things. He who from
these ascending under the influence of true love, begins to perceive
that beauty, is not far from the end. And the true order of going, or
being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the
beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of that other beauty,
using these as steps only, and from one going on to two, and from two
to all fair forms, and from fair forms to fair practices, and from
fair practices to fair notions, until from fair notions he arrives at
the notion of absolute beauty, and at last knows what the essence of
beauty is.” (13)
She tries to show him that beauty is not only on the outside but also
in the inside, in ones soul. Diotima’ s understanding and view if love
teaches him that love comes from within an individual person and if it
is real and genuine, that the love this person feels is honorable and
true. Love does not only exist in a physical form but also with ones’
inner self.
She goes on to tell Socrates that love has a life line. It is not
immortal but can survive through procreation from two lovers. This
will led to future generations and hopefully an eternity through a
union of a man and a woman.
"I mean to say, that all men are bringing to the birth in their
bodies and in their souls. There is a certain age at which human
nature is desirous of procreation-procreation which must be in beauty
and not in deformity; and this procreation is the union of man and
woman, and is a divine thing; for conception and generation are an
immortal principle in the mortal creature, and in the inharmonious
they can never be. But the deformed is always inharmonious with the
divine, and the beautiful harmonious.” (14)
C. Describe how Alcibiades’s love for Socrates is an example of love
already spoken about in the dialogue. In your answer, describe how
Alcibiades regards Socrates.
Alcibiades’ s love for Socrates was a bit strange. He didn't know
whether he loved him or hated him. At one point he spoke very highly
of Socrates and told everyone of his lust for him. He wanted to sleep
with him but Socrates kept putting him down. He was so in love with
Socrates’ intellect and virtue, that he just had to have him. He puts
Socrates on a pedestal and praises him till the end of the earth. The
next minute, he would be putting him through the mud. He criticizes
Socrates for not giving into his wants and desires. He expresses to
him the lust that he feels has been killing him.
“When we hear any other speaker, even very good one, he produces
absolutely no effect upon us, or not much, whereas the mere fragments
of you and your words, even at second-hand, and however imperfectly
repeated, amaze and possess the souls of every man, woman, and child
who comes within hearing of them. And if I were not, afraid that you
would think me hopelessly drunk, I would have sworn as well as spoken
to the influence which they have always had and still have over me.
For my heart leaps within me more than that of any Corybantian
reveller, and my eyes rain tears when I hear them.” (15)
He
feels these things for Socrates, not because of his physical beauty,
but because of his mind. He thinks that if he can have Socrates, that
this will make him a better man. He uses the same theory that
Pausanias uses to describe how he sees love. He is describing the ugly
kind of love, which is used only to make one feel more superior and
better about one self. He also proves what Diotima was saying about
people not necessary having to be beautiful in order for there to be
love. You can love someone just for the honor and virtue that they
possess.
“Now I feel that I should
be a fool to refuse you this or any other favour, and therefore I come
to lay at your feet all that I have and all that my friends have, in
the hope that you will assist me in the way of virtue, which I desire
above all things, and in which I believe that you can help me better
than any one else. And I should certainly have more reason to be
ashamed of what wise men would say if I were to refuse a favour to
such as you, than of what the world who are mostly fools, would say of
me if I granted it." (16)
Each
one gave their views on how they saw love. They all differed in one
way or another but one thing that they all had in common was to say
that love should make people want to do better things (although that
is not always the case) and that love is the mightiest god that ever
was and ever will be.
~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*
1) 360 BC SYMPOSIUM
by Plato translated by Benjamin Jowett (Online textbook)
2)
Ibid
3)
Ibid
4)
Ibid
5)
Ibid
6)
Ibid
7)
Ibid
8)
Ibid
9)
Ibid
10)
Ibid
11) Ibid
12)
Ibid
13)
Ibid
14)
Ibid
15)
Ibid
16)
Ibid