The Symposium: A Philosophers Guide To Love
...8:30am Tues-Thurs section
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...
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