A Philosophical Discussion on Love: Reading Plato's Symposium

Plato’s ‘Symposium’ is a Socratic dialogue about love. Situated in the home of the famous Athenian poet Agathon, Symposium presents a series of speeches by prominent Athenians who expound on the nature of love.

We encounter a range of ideas familiar to the modern mind: love creates happiness, encourages us to lead good lives, creates harmony and justice, and is the longing for unity with our better half.

All of these views, however, fail to capture the true essence of love. Love’s essence can only be understood by contemplating love itself, love in general - the Platonic form of love.

Socrates tells his fellow Athenians that love is the desire to have the good forever. Love therefore motivates us to reproduce so that we may approximate immortality. Physical reproduction is obvious: we reach towards immortality by perpetuating the human species. Yet it is mental reproduction that brings us closest to immortality and into favour with the Gods.

When two people pregnant in mind with creative and intellectual potential come together to discuss virtue, they give birth to children whose lives will outstrip their own: great works of philosophy and art. This is Platonic love. A relationship built around mutual appreciation of the beauty found in ideas and virtue. Platonic love grasps at what is truly immortal: the Form of Beauty itself.

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