Plato’s Symposium

Quickwrite

Free-write for ten minutes to start answering this question:

How do you define romantic love?

Socrates

• c. 469-399 B.C • lived in Athens during a time of transition • Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.), Sparta

defeats Athens• Lived simply, outside of politics• Greatly influenced Athens’ youth and

Western philosophy• Teachings recorded by Plato• Sentenced to death for blasphemy and

corrupting Athenian youth (politically motivated though)

Plato

• c. 427-347 B.C.

• born into a prominent Athenian family, expected to pursue a career in politics

• great admirer of Socrates, whose execution turned him off to politics

• founded the Academy 385 B.C.– Students included Aristotle– Lasted in some form until 527 A.D.– Serves as prototype for the Western

university system.

Plato’s Symposium• Written in 360 B.C.E, later work (Socrates

as mouthpiece for Plato’s views)• Complex framing device (“he said”, “I

heard”)• Dinner Party (literally “drinks-party”)

honoring the tragedian Agathon’s first victory in the dramatic festival

• Socratic discourse focused on the meaning of Love

How Do I Love Thee?

The Four Loves:– Storge (affection): natural affection occurring

between people whom fate has thrown together, like that felt by parents for offspring

– Philia (friendship): dispassionate, virtuous love including loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity.

– Eros (romance): passionate love, with sensual desire and longing

– Agape – unconditional love: deeper sense of "true love" rather than the attraction suggested by eros

Apollodorus

• The second-level narrator of the Symposium, and the first character encountered in the dialogue

• Apollodorus heard the story of the symposium from Aristodemus and recounts it once more to an unnamed companion.

Aristodemus• Guest at the symposium, a great admirer of

Socrates

• First-level narrator of the events (the source)

Phaedrus

• Handsome young man, a guest at the symposium and an admirer of Socrates

• His suggestion to discuss Love

• First to speak

• Posits that Love is one of the oldest of the gods, and the one that does the most to promote virtue in people.

Pausanias

• Another guest at the Symposium

• Life-long lover of Agathon (homosexuals)

• Speaks second

• Draws distinction between Common Love, which involves simple and mindless desire, and Heavenly Love

Eryximachus

• Doctor and guest at the symposium

• Presented throughout as rather pompous, confident in his medical skills, and insistent on maintaining order

• Suggests that good Love promotes moderation and orderliness, and does not restrict itself to human interaction (can be found in music, medicine, etc.)

Aristophanes• 445 - 385 B.C• Greatest comic poet of ancient times • Greatly influenced the course of comedy in the

Western tradition• The Clouds: satirical attack on Socrates (but

presented as friends in the Symposium)• Draws an engaging myth suggesting we were once

all twice the people we are now, but that our threat to the gods prompted Zeus to cut us in half. Ever since, we have wandered the earth looking for our other half in order to rejoin with it and become whole.

Agathon

• Greek tragedian in the ranks of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

• Young, beautiful, and very clever with words – uses rhetoric to disprove other views

• Partner in a life-long relationship with Pausanias• Identifies Love as young, beautiful, sensitive,

and wise, also sees Love as responsible for implanting all the virtues in us

• Questioned by Socrates, who suggests he has spoken about the object of Love, not Love itself.

Diotima of Mantinea• Woman whom Socrates claims to have

met, who taught him everything he knows on the subject of Love.

• Doubtful if Diotima is meant to represent any real person, especially since her speech is so authoritative and oracular.

• As Diotima passed her wisdom on to Socrates, so Socrates passes this wisdom on to his friends.

The Socratic Method

• Socrates questions guests to rationally defend their views

• Whittles out the truth by illuminating logical fallacies and eliminating hypotheses

• Guests zero in on what they do mean by clarifying what they don’t mean

Assignments• Print and read the Introduction. Underline unfamiliar

words and define them on the margins. Make notes (questions, responses, etc.) on the margins.

• Print and read through your philosopher, using the same approach for note-taking as with the Intro.

• Prepare a paraphrasing of your philosopher’s position to present to your group. You may bullet and underline for easier presentation, but you must write in complete sentences.

• Answer the Socratic Questions worksheet from the perspective of your author.

• Read Socrates’ response and make notes. As a group, you will create a paraphrasing of Socrates’ position.

• Write a response to the topics addressed and/or methodology used in Plato’s Symposium.

*All documents are available on my Foothill web page.

ScheduleDays 1 & 2: Read the Intro and your philosopher’s

excerpt while making notesDay 3: Prepare paraphrasing of excerptDay 4: Philosopher group discussionDay 5: Revise paraphrasing of excerpt and complete

Socratic Questions.Day 6 & 7: Dinner Party 1: Discuss the Intro and

present philosopher’s positionDay 8: Read Socrates’ response while making notesDay 9: Dinner Party 2: Discuss Socrates’ response.Day 10: Dinner Party 3: Prepare paraphrasing of

Socrates’ response.Day 11: Draft Personal Response

What Will I Collect?

The final paraphrasing of your philosopher’s excerpt

The Socratic Questions sheetYour group’s paraphrasing of Socrates’

responseYour printed Personal Response to Plato’s

Symposium (document can be emailed)