Plato symposium full text pdf

Reading Guide for Plato’s Symposium

This homework is designed to help you approach philosophy with the attention of a philosopher

by guiding your analysis, checking your comprehension, refreshing your memory, and

stimulating your thinking. While it will draw your attention to important parts of the text, it is not

comprehensive. Your analysis depends on your own close and careful reading. You are should

use it before, after, or as you read. You are not expected to fill this homework out and submit it

prior to the start of our class discussion on the Symposium, as these are the sorts of questions that

may be posed during our discussion. Page numbers reference the numbers on the actual pages of

the reading, not the ones displayed in the PDF viewer.

Comprehension:

• On pages 1-2, what is the main topic Apollodorus’ companion wants him to discuss?

• Phaedrus’ Speech (pgs. 7-9)

o What is the account of love provided by Phaedrus? How is love defined?

o How is a relationship between a lover and beloved different from other relationships?

• Pausanias’ Speech (pgs. 9-13)

o What account of love is provided by Pausanias?

o How does he contrast his account from the one given Phaedrus?

o What are the two kinds of love mentioned?

o What rules does he think society should have to regulate love relationships?

o How is a vulgar lover distinguished from a noble lover? And a dishonorable lover from

an honorable lover?

• Eryximachus’ Speech (pgs. 14-16)

o What is the account of love provided by Eryximachus?

o How does he contrast his account from the one given by Pausanias?

o With respect to human bodies, what are the two loves he distinguishes between? How

does he define them?

o What does he believe are the parallels between music and medicine?

• Aristophanes’ Speech (pgs. 16-20)

o How has the power of love been misunderstood?

o How did human nature exist before men and women were separated from each other?

o Given the mythology presented, how does he define love?

• Agathon’s Speech (pgs. 22-24)

o How does Agathon contrast his account with those before him?

o How does he describe Love as having beauty, virtue, and wisdom?

• Socrates’ Speech (pgs. 24-37)

o What is Socrates’ criticism of the speeches that preceded him?

o Describe the account of love that Socrates learned from Diotima.

o What does Diotima mean when she says that Love is a daimon?

o Who are Love’s parents? How does this influence the nature of Love?

o How does Diotima conceive of philosophers? And ignorant people?

o What is the relationship between love and “the good”?

o What goal is pursued by those motivated by love?

o How is Beauty related to Love?

o What is the relationship between love, birth (generation) and immortality?

o Explain Diotima’s distinction between those who are pregnant in the body and those

who are pregnant in the soul.

o When Diotima discusses the “greater and more hidden” mysteries of love, what are the

three stages she mentions?

Analysis and Evaluation:

• On pages 3-4, it is said that on the walk to the dinner party Socrates suddenly “dropped

behind in a fit of abstraction.” When a servant is sent to bring him to the dinner party, the

servant reports that Socrates “is fixed and when I call to him he will not stir.” Aristodemus

says this happens from time to time: “He has a way of stopping anywhere and losing

himself with any reason.” What do you think is going on with Socrates? Given what you

learned in lecture, what spiritual practice might Socrates be engaged in here? And given

what was discussed about how philosophers relate to common people, what does Socrates

exemplify when he misses half of the dinner party?

• On pages 10-12, Pausanias asserts that society should have norms and even laws that

regulate love relationships. First, do you think norms and even laws are needed to regulate

love relationships? Or should anything be socially and legally permissible? Do some of the

norms and laws Pausanias mentions seem reasonable and justified? Are there other norms

and laws that you would include? If so, what? Relatedly, Pausanias mentions how society

accepts when lovers do things in the name of love that would otherwise be considered

strange, even crazy. Would you agree this statement is still true today? Like Pausanias, do

you find it odd that we allow for lovers to do things in the name of love that we would

otherwise find strange, weird, or even crazy? Why or why not?

• On page 17, Aristophanes claims that original human nature contained “man, woman, and

the union of the two [androgynous].” Putting aside for a moment the Greek mythology in

which he embeds this claim, considering the current cultural moment with respect to how

we understand gender, how would you evaluate this claim?

• With respect to how Aristophanes defines love on pgs. 19-20, putting aside the mythology

for a moment, do you find his definition plausible? Or at least as providing a useful

explanation of how some people conceive of love today? What limitations, if any, does

such an explanation possess?

• On pages 34-35, with respect to Diotima’s claims as to human’s desire for immortality, do

you think humans have a desire to leave behind a part of themselves after they die? Do you

think this desire explains why humans make the specific life choices and actions that

Diotima mentions? Or are there are other reasons for why humans make the specific life

choices she mentions?

• On pages 36-37, concerning Diotima’s description of divine beauty, do you think we

should aspire to know such profound beauty in the world? Why or why not?