The Importance Of Romantic Love In Plato's Phaedrus

When I was a child growing up, my biological father taught me a lesson I will never forget. He had a lovely girlfriend. Let’s call her Olive. Olive and my father were together for years, living happily and enjoying each other’s company. However, once I become older I was introduced to my father’s second girlfriend, let’s call her Jenny. Jenny, Olive and my father lived to together in the same house, just the three of them. Subsequently, the relationship did not last. I did not discover the truth until years later. Olive wanted a monogamous relationship with my father but my father did not feel the same way. The result of Olive’s heartbreak lead to the destruction of their strange but seemly happy relationship. The trio split and would go one

In the Phaedrus, Socrates gives several speeches on the subject of Romantic love. Incidentally, Socrates is discussing about the same type of love I am. Given the time period and the numerous new definitions and discoveries on romantic since Plato’s time I interpret that when Socrates speaks of romantic love, he is speaking about true love. In his speech Socrates speaks of a young man he is hypothetically in love with. Socrates sees beauty (a God) that he is lacking within this young man, not just beauty in his appearance but beauty within his mind. Socrates said, “All soul looks after that lacks a soul, and patrols all of heaven, taking different shapes at different times (Phaedrus 111)”. Meaning the mind seeks for what it lacks. The young man is missing some important qualities to become whole while Socrates is lacking the beauty within the boy. He is lacking the knowledge and passion of a true philosopher. Socrates begins to cultivate his true love by teaching and improving the qualities of the young man. The young man and Socrates shared a beautiful goal of gaining knowledge and reproducing ideas. I write this example to support my claim that true love can only be found between two people in a monogamous relationship pursuing a beautiful

Is it a chemical cocktail of hormones going crazing within our bodies? Is it some godly force that leads us to “the one” or is it for survival? “If love does possesses "a nature" which is identifiable by some means-a personal expression, a discernible pattern of behavior, or other activity, it can still be asked whether that nature can be properly understood by humanity (Moseley 2).” There is still a lot we do not know about love. I personal believe that people fall in love for all sorts of reasons. Love can occur when an individual sees godly qualities in a person like Plato. Love can come out of the need to no to be alone and survive with a partner at your back or maybe you see yourself in the person you love. There are many reasons to fall in love, but falling in love happens between two people. Two people build a relationship, two people set up the rules of that relationship and if that relationship progresses to true love then it is up to the two to pursue their beautiful goal