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Plato's Symposium: the Love of Wisdom Is the Highest Form

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Plato's Symposium: the Love of Wisdom Is the Highest Form Phaedrus: Plato’s Symposium: The love of wisdom is the highest Eros is the best guide to virtue for the lover form of love/philosophy. What path will bring us into a closer apprehension of Beauty while inspired by Eros will be inspired to display courage leading to self-sacrifice. souls are still in bodies ? Pausanias: Distinction between 2 kinds of Aphrodite type Outline: Theme: Doctrine of recollection Interesting Obs: love: heavenly love & common love. The former First Sequence: 1-5 (anamnesis): In the shock 1. Diotama & Socrates do not love promotes moral development. The Effects of Eros: of birth, our souls, which assign a role to the arts in the We can progress from process of reawakening to beheld the Form directly, Eryximachus: bodily beauty to beauty Beauty. I. Prologue: 172a-178a Argues that there is a noble & bad love are polar of mind, to beauty of repress this memory. But II. The Speech of Phaedrus opposites. Good love causes things to come institutions and laws and it can be recalled, and 2. If we can be better with the (178a-180b) together in harmony. Strife causes things to come III. The Speech of Pausanias apart. the sciences alone (210- when recalled it Form by recourse to arts, then to that extent they give us or (180c-185d) 11)-finally, to essential constitutes true help us attain knowledge unto A. Interlude: Aristophanes Aristophanes: beauty entire, pure, and knowledge” (Phaedrus the Form, they are helpful. hiccups (185d-e) Accounts for human condition: the nature of love 249e). The question is: unallowed (211e). IV. The Speech of is longing for the other half from which we have what is the role of an been separated. 3. Is there a distinction Eryximachus (186a-189b) “We learn to love beauty, artist in this process of between appearing beautiful The Speech of Aristophanes Agathon: recollection? and being beautiful? An artist (189c-193d) so to speak, in diluted The nature of love is most beautiful and the most who distorts shapes to make A. Interlude (193e-194c). form to start with-the There are 2 virtuous of the gods. It is most beautiful because then “appear to be beautiful” physical beauty of man complimentary ways: Second Sequence: 6-7: it is most delicate and young and is most virtuous might deserve better treatment because it involves Love’s goodness (just, or woman-but having (1) Knowledge by The Nature of Eros: from Plato rather than mimesis temperate, brave, and skillful). description (ideal forms acquired the taste, or because he is working to I. Speech of Agathon (195a- It is the cause of all similar excellences in others. exists in abstract, non- developed the perceptual embody the Form of beauty 197e). skill to discern it clearly, physical knowledge); (see Sophist 236a). A. Interlude: Socrates and Plato: Agathon failed to see that love, by its very nature, we can go to higher and (2) Knowledge by Agathon (198a-201c). is always a love of something (love desires that acquaintance (while souls “Now if a man believes in the II. The Speech of Socrates better beauties-with the which it loves). It follows that love necessarily existence of beautiful things, (201d-212c). promise, or at least the are still in bodies, it is lacks that which it desires (199d-200b). but not of Beauty itself, and A. The Nature of Eros (201- hope, that we may gain done by love (Eros) (see Eros is an offspring of Resource & Poverty; in love cannot follow a guide would 204e). Phaedrus, 249e-250d). with what is beautiful, a lover of wisdom. again behold Beauty in lead him to a knowledge of it, III. The Speech of Love is wanting to possess the good forever (206A). itself (discourse of is he not living in a dream? Alcibiades: eulogy to The real object of love is not just the good, but Diotima of Mantineia)” (Republic, 476c). Socrates (212d-222e). giving birth in beauty, which is at the heart, a IV. Epilogue (222e-223d). desire for immortality. The ladder of Love: 210: (1) Love of single beautiful body Alcibiades: Theory of Forms (ideas): The absolute essence lies behind which leads to (2) see how beauty exists in all beautiful bodies. He is the quintessential person of physical beauty material realm. Human sense perception can perceive only (3) Perceive the beautiful soul as a purer instance of beauty and but lacks self-discipline, representing physical distorted “material” shadows of the real (the forms). But a more worthy quest of the lover (210b); (4) sphere of erotic side of passion. He is rejected by Socrates (who is Through philosophy we may attain a closer apprehension of knowledge whereby one contemplates the beauty present in pregnant); Socrates gets the poor side of bargain if the Form ( Symposium 210b). knowledge (5) which lead to a single kind of knowledge: love consents to an exchange of physical love for of wisdom. Beautiful qua form. Beauty is the good in the cave. wisdom..
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