Synopsis
Length: Short
50-70 pages in most printed editions, ±20,000 words. A relatively short philosophical work, typical of Plato's dialogues. As a dialogue meant to be read or performed, it’s concise and can be comfortably read in a single sitting of a few hours, though its depth often invites slower, reflective engagement.
The Main Theories of Eros
Phaedrus praises eros as a source of virtue and courage, inspiring lovers to noble deeds.
Pausanias distinguishes between common eros (physical) and heavenly eros (intellectual and moral), valuing the latter as a path to wisdom.
Eryximachus, a doctor, extends eros to a cosmic principle of harmony, balancing opposites in nature and human life.
Aristophanes delivers a mythical tale of humans originally being whole beings split into halves, with eros as the longing to reunite with one’s other half.
Agathon celebrates eros as a beautiful, youthful god that inspires creativity and goodness.
Socrates—ever Plato's debate hero—channeling the priestess Diotima, redefines eros as a ladder of ascent: from physical attraction to appreciation of all beauty, then to moral and intellectual beauty, and finally to the eternal Form of Beauty itself—a transcendent, philosophical ideal beyond mere emotion or desire. Socrates uses this rationale to extol his perception of homosexual sex above heterosexual sex.
Alcibiades crashes the party and offers a drunken tribute to Socrates, revealing eros' personal, complex reality through his unrequited affection for the philosopher.
The dialogue blends humor, myth, and rigorous philosophy, culminating in Socrates’ vision of eros as a pursuit of the divine and eternal, rather than just human connection leading to human offspring. It ends ambiguously, with the party dissolving into revelry, leaving readers to ponder the interplay between lofty ideals and earthy realities.
Why The Symposium Is Important to Read Today
- Eros and Love: Clearly in the Greek mind eros is not a "type" of love as we have allowed it to be thought of in English. If it was then these debators—especially Pausanias—would have compared it with other "types", friendship, affection, and agape, God's perfect love. But in the Greek mind these are distinct entities, especially agape. Agape—what we define in english as God's perfect love—is not a type of anything.
- Exploration of Eros' Complexity: In a world obsessed with romantic clichés or transactional relationships, Plato’s multifaceted view of eros—as physical, emotional, and intellectual—offers a richer, more nuanced perspective. But in the process he sacrifices the Biblical, common sense definition and puropse of sexual attraction for procreation within the safety of a greater love than sex; sex has a context—sacrificial love, Agape—which Plato, and his drunken debators, ignore in their hightened arousal.
- Philosophical Depth: The "Ladder of Love" challenges modern readers to see beyond superficial desires toward higher ideals like beauty, truth, and wisdom, relevant in an age of instant gratification. Plato's rigorous logis is also a great exercise in critical thinking and rhetoric, skills sorely lacking today.
- Timeless Human Questions: The dialogue’s inquiry into what drives connection and purpose resonates across centuries, making it a touchstone for personal reflection in an era of digital isolation. We ought to ask ourselves if we should follow animal instincts or curtail them and bring them under a greater purpose.
- Influence on Western Thought: As a foundational text, The Symposium has shaped our modern pedagogy, psychology, ethics, and aesthetics, providing insight into how ancient ideas still inform contemporary culture. Although it's influence is very negative, it is also important to understand.
- Dialogue as a Model: The conversational format—blending debate, humor, and storytelling—demonstrates how diverse viewpoints can coexist, a lesson for today’s polarized discourse.
Beauty and Meaning: In a utilitarian society, Socrates’ pursuit of the Form of Beauty invites readers to reclaim wonder and transcendence in their search for truth amid materialism and cynicism.
Three Defining Quotes from The Symposium
"Those who are pregnant in body turn to childbearing, because this has something everlasting in it. But those who are pregnant in soul... these offspring are better than human children."
"The primeval man was round, his back and sides forming a circle; and he had four hands and four feet, one head with two faces... Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods... Zeus said: ‘Methinks I have a plan whereby they may be humbled... I will cut them in two.’ ... After the division the two parts of man, each desiring his other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one."
"He who has been instructed thus far in the things of love, and who has learned to see the beautiful in due order and succession, when he comes toward the end will suddenly perceive a nature of wondrous beauty... beauty absolute, separate, simple, and everlasting, which without diminution and without increase, or any change, is imparted to the ever-growing and perishing beauties of all other things. He who from these ascending under the influence of true love, begins to perceive that beauty, is not far from the end."
Summary
The Symposium remains a vital read for its blend of intellectual rigor and human warmth, urging us to wrestle with love’s mysteries in our own time.
Plato, through Socrates, brilliantly dismantles Agathon’s poetic fluff by rooting beauty in absolute terms, a logic that could extend to truth. Yet he misses—or masks—that this same standard cuts against Socrates’ own triumph. When Alcibiades flounders, Socrates implies it’s because he’s up against truth. But winning an argument, even with skill and education, isn’t proof of truth—it’s an argument from authority, twisting ‘I win because I’m right’ into ‘I’m right because I win.’ Plato knew this fallacy, yet lets Socrates’ charisma blur the line.
