The Symposium: A Philosophers Guide to Love
As much as our society has become involved in the advancement of feminism and
the equality of the sexes, there is one fact that neither gender can ignore;
none can survive without the other. Love and the want of a soul mate keeps each
member of man and womankind in constant search of the perfect person with whom
to become one. Yet if this bond is a necessity of the human race then why has
the meaning, purpose and pursuit of it eluded us for so many generations. There
has yet to be a one universal explanation of love and there has yet to be one
who understands it's powers fully. As we see from Plato's Symposium, even the
wisest of men in a time when the search for knowledge was seen as the pathway to
enlightenment love was still a concept that was not understood and unknown.
Though many of the guidelines and characteristics of love are wise, some may not
apply to modern society.
The writing serves as a pamphlet that depicts some of the guidelines of love as
the philosophers of Plato's time saw them. The intervention of the God's in the
orations of the philosophers can be interpreted to mean the different aspects of
love and their effects on people. The text goes into many characteristics
about the god or gods that were love , yet for the purpose of this essay, it
would seem relevant to stick with the guidelines and ideals that were presented
in the speeches given by the men. It seemed as though in each of the lectures
given, Plato put a message into each one. Each man brought up valid guidelines
for dealing with love and each should be concentrated on.
The speeches started with Phaedrus who began to state many of the powers of love.
He spoke about the honor between one and their beloved and how it was a great
virtue in a relationship. The point that Phaedrus made was that a man of any
nature would rather suffer humiliation in front of a great mass of people or all
of mankind itself than to suffer the loss of respect or the loss of dignity in
front of their lover. This point is definitely true yet Phaedrus failed to
make a definite cause as to why this was prevalent. It may pertain to modern
society that to suffer indignation in front of a lover as seen by the male would
be to suffer the loss of one's masculinity and the inability to protect their
lover, whereas for the female it...
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...ty, I feel is outdated and does not apply to modern society.
I believe that these ideas about the characteristics of love and the ideas that
coincide are outdated and are not very relevant to today's society. In our
modern monotheistic society the idea of love as a god is certainly invalid.
Also the ideas of actions done out of virtue and respect rather than love also
seems to be a dated concept. Whether our motives for actions such as self
sacrifice or procreation have gotten more respectable or less remains to be seen,
yet it is evident that they have changed since Plato's era. Thus if the
characteristics and motives of love have changed then the concept of love must
have evolved as well. This evolution of love may be a characteristic of the
concept itself. Love may be an ever changing concept that adapts itself to the
society in which it exists. Our concepts of love and what is noble is
undoubtedly different than those of the eastern cultures and as we have seen
from the previous example, love definitely changes with time. Therefore the
concept of love may have no exact meaning except for that which the society in
which it exists perceives and excepts it to be.
Desperately, people turn to use some words loosely. Take note when you are talking with people and you hear them using reminiscent words such as smart, pretty, beautiful, intelligent, or love in sentences. For the purpose of this paper, I will focus on the word Love due to the fact that love turns to apply in all the other words that people use loosely. There are numerous definitions of the word love, but I will pick one from Dictionary.com that states: A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. It’s obvious that a large majority of people are content when they hear the phrase “I Love You”. On the other hand, when a person says I love you, it can be misinterpreted effortlessly. One question I
Love and affection is an indispensable part of human life. In different culture love may appear differently. In the poem “My god my lotus” lovers responded to each other differently than in the poem “Fishhawk”. Likewise, the presentation of female sexuality, gender disparity and presentation of love were shown inversely in these two poems. Some may argue that love in the past was not as same as love in present. However, we can still find some lovers who are staying with their partners just to maintain the relationship. We may also find some lovers having relationship only because of self-interest. However, a love relationship should always be out of self-interest and must be based on mutual interest. A love usually obtains its perfectness when it develops from both partners equally and with same affection.
Within Symposium, Plato portrayed Love not as an idealization, but rather on the judgment that was made from Love’s control of the human body (lecture). One speech in particular, the one told by Aristophanes, presents an interest and mythical view on the concept of love. The love he describes is a dedication to the idea of soulmate love (lecture). Spherical people were being that were completely round, “they had four hands each, as many legs as hands, and two faces, exactly alike, on a rounded neck. Between the two faces, which were on opposite sides, was one head with four ears (Plato 25).” As these beings has more limbs and eyes than any god, they were considered too powerful which led to the god Zeus, splitting them in half. Once split, the beings began to die as they starved and became idle as they could not live without their other half (Plato 26-27). Aristophanes concluded that as their separation from one another was the cause to their deaths it was no less than a demonstration for the desire humans have to love one another, as stated on page 27, “This, then, is the source of our desire to love each other … heal the wound of human nature.” The perspective Aristophanes presents is about a fusion between one object - or individual, and the object of desire; love is about momentary intimacy both physical and emotional. Aristophanes presents the desire of the momentary intimacy that the human body craves in his speech by saying “ The purpose was this so that … they could stop embracing, return to their jobs, and look after their other needs in life (Plato 27).” This particular quote is important because it represents Aristophanes’ overall view that, human beings desire one another, they need one another; however, one they obtain their object of desire they are free to continue on with the rest of life’s
In classical Greek literature the subject of love is commonly a prominent theme. However, throughout these varied texts the subject of Love becomes a multi-faceted being. From this common occurrence in literature we can assume that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real life context in the tragedy “Hippolytus” by Euripides. This brings the philosophical views made by Pausanius into a real-life context.
What is love? Love is the force that binds our feelings. It is very difficult to get out of it, sometimes even impossible. The ability to love in the human beings can manifest itself in the form of attachment, complex social relationships within the group type, but it is fully controversial and has not been confirmed. Love is the highest moral and aesthetic sense, which means a strong emotional attachment and selfless commitment to another person. Love is based on qualities such as selflessness, dedication, devotion. Love is very emotional feeling; it is characterized by high elation flourishing desires, high availability dissolved in the subject of love. In a state of love one experiences a special satisfaction from life that is the state of happiness.
Thomas's summary and statement. Not that he would have students swear by the words of
The author, John Donne, had a distinct amorous and philosophical style in his literary work characterizing love as religion. Donne was born in a religious Roman Catholic home, which influenced his decision to be ordained as a deacon and priest in his adult life. In his amorous tone, Donne often uses metaphors and imagery to describe and display his love for someone or something. Metaphors and imagery are one of the central figurative languages used by Donne when characterizing his love as a religion that bewilders him in how for every good deed he’s done, the woman won’t return the favor. The metaphors and imagery used to characterize an intangible thing contribute to the theme of how love pertains to our lives just like religion
Thucydides’ version of Pericles’ “Funeral Oration” can be read as more of an ironic rendering of Pericles’ original speech since The History of the Peloponnesian War is not just considered to be a historical account but also a “highly imaginative piece of work” in which Thucydides made characters involved in the war say what he believed they actually meant instead of what they might have originally said (Thucydides Introduction pg. x). In the “Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises certain
Authors use poetry to creatively present attitudes and opinions. “A Man’s Requirements,” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” are two poems with distinct attitudes about love that contain different literary approaches. In both of the poems, love is addressed from a different perspective, producing the difference in expectation and presentation, but both suggest the women are subservient in the relationships.
For many years, love has been argued as to whether it is a feeling or a choice. We experience love in all shapes in forms through family, friends, or significant others. But what is the true, desirable definition of love? You would be surprised with how much this four letter word means to the world and how much it could affect your life. I believe love is something unique and special that most people cannot live without. If you feel as if these characteristics don't exist in your life, then what will you have in the end? (Odo 66) But then again love isn't just about the “magic” you have for someone, but about how to make it work and to keep that meaning alive, and about learning to love yourself before you love others.
with some very different views of love as brought to us by Agathon, Phaedrus and
...gh love is a personal feeling it still needs, most of the time, society’s acceptance to become concrete. If society and its norms judge that a love shouldn’t happen and that it isn’t real (even if it is) it usually will not work out, it will be destined to fail. It is said that “all you need is love”, but that is rarely the case. Most people feel like they need acceptance and that will not happen if they break society’s norms, even love is subordinate to those norms.
Around the world people love. They live for love, they write for love, the sing, eat, cook, die and kill for love (ForumNetwork, 2009). Since the beginning of recorded time, people have wondered why love is such an intense and universal feeling. There is no culture in this planet that does not have love (ForumNetwork, 2009). This essay will only talk about romantic love were sexuality and attraction are involved. Romantic love, is one of the most powerful energies on earth (ForumNetwork, 2009), it is indeed one on the most addictive substances we can experience at least once in our life. The rush of cocaine and the rush of being in love depend on the same chemicals in our brain (ForumNetwork, 2009); we are literally addicted to love. The feeling of being in love does not depend whether the other part loves you back or not, it will help you feel more happy that is for sure, but the intensity of the feeling loved or heartbroken is the same, they both depart from the same principle: the love and desire of the other. Love remains in the most basic system of our brain, under all cognitive process, under all motor impulses; it is placed in our reward system, the most ancient systems of all (ForumNetwork, 2009).
One of the eight concepts is “Eros” or Erotic love, which represents sexual passion and desire— typically falling under romantic relationships. Eros is mostly based on sexual feelings and desires rather than anything else. The next type of love is “Philia” or Affectionate love, which describes the love of friends—especially ones that experienced hard times with each other. This type of love is free from romance, but mostly focuses on loyalty. In addition, “Storge” or Familial love symbolizes natural love between family, principally between parents and children. Like “Philia” it is also free of romance. The fourth type of love in Greek society is “Ludus” or Playful love that symbolizes a playful form of love, for example, between lovers. Every relationship should maintain the playful form to retain a fresh relationship and to stray away from always being serious. The fifth type of love is “Mania” or Obsessive love, which a person becomes jealous because they want love and to be loved. This love can lead to many problems in a romantic or interpersonal relationship because of jealousy. Next is “Pragma” or Enduring love, which symbolizes a matured love over time. Furthermore, this relationship has passed physical touches— but developed into a casual, loving relationship. Does not only include marriages, but friendships that have occurred for a long time. Moreover, “Philautia” or Self love occurs when we love ourselves regardless of anything. The Greeks acknowledged that we must first love ourselves before we can demonstrate love to anyone else. We cannot share what we do not obtain, we must first love ourselves (Sol, 2016). Additionally, the eighth type of Greek love is “Agape” or Selfless love, which is unconditional love. Out of all the types of loves, it is the purest due to the reason it does not expect anything. Regardless of how many mistakes or flaws a person has,