Plato's Symposium Sparknotes

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” (Socrates-cite website). Socrates was the wisest person in Athens according to the Oracle of Delphi. In Plato’s Apology we read about Socrates’ journey to find a man wiser than him, his trail, and finally his death.

The Symposium revolves around a Greek party made up of various men throwing around their views on love, building up to height of the evening by a speech from Socrates. Socrates knows the true way to obtain love, and tells of a tale between him and his mentor, Diotima. Through Diotima, Socrates is able to

Plato’s idea that there was a perfect world of ideas affected this pieces subject and the

In this post it is my goal to analyze Plato’s The Apology showing that Socrates statement of “an unexamined life is not worth living” stands as Socrates statement of his own worth, wisdom, and place in Athenian society.

The tale and structure of a society or city that Plato would like to create entails a lot. It cannot be forced upon the current generation, but the cultivating of the following beliefs, justices, and rules over time can be passed onto the current generation’s offspring. Plato’s plan is to do this so that it would then continue until all that anyone knows is the laws of justice with Guardians, or gold citizens, Auxiliaries or silver, and Producers who are bronze and iron citizens. Plato wants the citizens of the State to believe that God has made them different in that may have more power than others and hold the greatest honor which is gold. Those made of silver will be auxiliaries, but those made of brass and iron will be husbandmen and craftsmen. A golden parent may have a silver son and vice versa. (Plato 3)

“All of a sudden he will catch sight of something wonderfully beautiful in its nature; that, Socrates, is the reason for all his earlier labors.” (210E)

Some might argue that Plato’s conventions seem to advocate for women’s rights and better family conventionalities, however, I will examine how Plato’s reasons will not benefit the city by first, questioning how Plato’s motives for allowing women to rule are based more on control rather than on equality. Next, I will show that this form of control will do more damage than good because taking over a woman’s right to have sex with who she wants violates her natural rights as a woman. As a result, this would create disruption for procreation

The most influential philosopher of the 5th century BCE is a man by the name of Socrates. His life and teachings are the foundation of Western Philosophy. Socrates was dedicated to reasoning and the development and investigation of the truth. Unpopular then, Socrates employed a strategy to pursue the truth by using dialectic. Socrates was one to question everything and anything less than the truth was received with more questions. Socrates never wrote anything down, and therefore any dialogues and teachings are dependent on his students Xenophon and Plato account. This gives rise to the Socratic Problem. What we do know, according to Plato’s Apology, is that Socrates’ divine mission is a complex one. Using two of Plato’s written accounts of

Plato's metaphor of the divided line is essentially two worlds; the world of opinion (the

In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes

Coors Light, Bud Light, Svedka, Jack Daniel’s, Keystone Light, Corona, and Heineken: These names are known on college campuses across the country. Each one synonymous with stories from whomever drinks them. All of these plus many more are always present on college campuses whether it be at a party in a frat house or in a dorm room. Just because these are around doesn’t mean that every college student drinks or wants to drink. “Symposium” in terms of the actual word not the book is prevalent in college as well. There are many connections between what symposium meant in the time of Socrates and Plato and colleges of today’s world.

Philosophy is a Greek word meaning "love of wisdom." Throughout Plato's Republic, wisdom plays an important role. According to Plato, education is wisdom. In the passage, 518d, Plato discusses the true meaning of education vicariously through Socrates. Some literary mechanisms can be found in the passage and I will show how they fit in the text and how they contribute to the main themes of Plato's Republic.

Plato’s Symposium attempts to define the eclectic theory of love, a theory that is often believed to be the universal principle that guides mankind’s actions. Plato introduces several narratives in the form of a dialogue that seek to characterize this multifaceted theory of Eros. The meaning of love naturally varies in each narrative. Yet, in this dialogue of love, Plato presents a metaphysical approach to understanding the ambiguous meaning of love. Ultimately, Plato values the perennial quest for knowledge above all else. In Symposium, Platonic love is exhibited in the relationship between virtue and desire, as expressed in Diotima’s ladder. Desire is the vehicle, or the means to an end. The six Athenians ultimately present different

Plato and Toni Morrison: Erotic Love Defined Eros, the Greek word for erotic love, is an idea that is well expressed through Plato’s Symposium as well as Love by Toni Morrison. The Symposium discusses the origins and opposing meanings of Eros, whereas Love elaborates more on the two different kinds of love that people exhibit. Plato’s Symposium and Love demonstrate that erotic love is a love that is passionate and difficult to contain and often results in people getting hurt, but is the strongest connection we can have to another person.

Socrates continues the conversation with Glaucon and now focuses on the obligation of the guardians and philosophers to serve the people as a result of their education.