In Plato's 'Symposium,' a group of esteemed Athenian thinkers gathers for a lavish banquet, where each guest presents a unique perspective on love. As the evening unfolds, their discussions delve into the nature of desire, beauty, and the quest for true fulfillment. Through engaging dialogues, Plato explores the contrast between physical attraction and the pursuit of intellectual and spiritual connections. The interplay of wit, philosophy, and personal anecdotes captures the complexities of human relationships. This timeless work challenges readers to reflect on their own understanding of love and the essence of happiness.
By Plato
Published: 2019
"Love is the pursuit of the whole; in seeking what we have lost, we find what we truly seek."
Of all the works of Plato the Symposium is the most perfect in form, and may be truly thought to contain more than any commentator has ever dreamed of; or, as Goethe said of one of his own writings, more than the author himself knew. For in philosophy as in prophecy glimpses of the future may often be conveyed in words which could hardly have been understood or interpreted at the time when they were uttered (compare Symp.)-which were wiser than the writer of them meant, and could not have been expressed by him if he had been interrogated about them. Yet Plato was not a mystic, nor in any degree affected by the Eastern influences which afterwards overspread the Alexandrian world. He was not an enthusiast or a sentimentalist, but one who aspired only to see reasoned truth, and whose thoughts are clearly explained in his language. There is no foreign element either of Egypt or of Asia to be found in his writings. And more than any other Platonic work the Symposium is Greek both in style and subject, having a beauty 'as of a statue, ' while the companion Dialogue of the Phaedrus is marked by a sort of Gothic irregularity. More too than in any other of his Dialogues, Plato is emancipated from former philosophies. The genius of Greek art seems to triumph over the traditions of Pythagorean, Eleatic, or Megarian systems, and 'the old quarrel of poetry and philosophy' has at least a superficial reconcilement. An unknown person who had heard of the discourses in praise of love spoken by Socrates and others at the banquet of Agathon is desirous of having an authentic account of them, which he thinks that he can obtain from Apollodorus, the same excitable, or rather 'mad' friend of Socrates, who is afterwards introduced in the Phaedo. He had imagined that the discourses were recent. There he is mistaken: but they are still fresh in the memory of his informant, who had just been repeating them to Glaucon, and is quite prepared to have another rehearsal of them in a walk from the Piraeus to Athens. Although he had not been present himself, he had heard them from the best authority. Aristodemus, who is described as having been in past times a humble but inseparable attendant of Socrates, had reported them to him. The Symposium is connected with the Phaedrus both in style and subject; they are the only Dialogues of Plato in which the theme of love is discussed at length. In both of them philosophy is regarded as a sort of enthusiasm or madness; Socrates is himself 'a prophet new inspired' with Bacchanalian revelry, which, like his philosophy, he characteristically pretends to have derived not from himself but from others. The Phaedo also presents some points of comparison with the Symposium. For there, too, philosophy might be described as 'dying for love;' and there are not wanting many touches of humour and fancy, which remind us of the Symposium
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“Love is the pursuit of the whole; in seeking what we have lost, we find what we truly seek.”
Symposium
By Plato
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Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, born around 427 BCE in Athens, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western philosophy. A student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy in Athens, one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in the Western world. His philosophical works, primarily written in the form of dialogues, explore a range of topics including ethics, politics, metaphysics, and the nature of reality. Notable dialogues such as "The Republic," "Phaedrus," and "Timaeus" have had a profound impact on subsequent philosophical thought and the development of various fields, including political theory and education. Plato's ideas continue to resonate today, shaping discussions in philosophy, science, and the arts.
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