Socrates as an Exemplar of Love It may seem at first that Plato wrote Symposium merely to praise Love through a sequence of speeches made by the selected male speakers attending the drinking party. After Socrates makes his speech on the truth of love however, it becomes more apparent that Symposium is also a tribute to Socrates and his way of life. Although this is shown gradually and indirectly, Plato eventually makes clear his respect and admiration for Socrates’ way of life. The structure of the book was laid out in a way so that readers can interpret Socrates as a representation of love.All the speeches deliver in Symposium are central to the depiction of Socrates as an embodiment of love.
The first few speeches, though insignificant in content, illustrates the process of the ascent of love that Socrates later mentions in his speech; Diotima’s speech is crucial in shaping and establishing Socrates’ ideology on love; Alcibiades’ speech at the end reaffirms Socrates as the personification of love because of his immortality with philosophy and pregnancy of beautiful ideas.It is paramount first of all to comprehend the other speakers’ viewpoints on love to better understand the struggles of searching for the truth. The story commences with a series of speeches focused on the benefits of love. All speakers except Socrates praise Love under the assumption that Love is good and beautiful. Each of them attempts to express their viewpoints on love in a manner that flatters himself or his specialties.
For example, Eryximachus the doctor uses pompous references to medical terms, while Agathon the tragedian uses rhetoric to eulogize love.As their lifestyles differ, their personal beliefs and experiences on love are different. Inevitably, there are disagreements on the accurate definition of love. The men disagree upon certain parts and build upon other parts.
The notion of love hence evolves increasingly abstract. The disagreements among the men however demonstrate the process of love. Diotima states that the process of love is the slow and careful. According to her, the discovery of the truth must be closely examined and corrected if the previous statements are erroneous.The speeches prior to Socrates’ not only present contrasting views on love, but more significantly build up Diotima’s depiction of love as a continual exploration for beauty and wisdom.
Diotima’s concept of love is completely different from that of all other speakers. Unlike other speakers, Diotima associates neither positive nor negative traits with love. She simply describes love as a desire to possess and preserve good things eternally. When asked what Love wants, Diotima answers, “Reproduction and birth in beauty” (206E, 53).She further explains her reasoning by saying, “..
. Reproduction goes on forever; it is what mortals have in place of immortality. A lover must desire immortality along with the good, if what we agreed earlier was right, that Love wants to possess the good forever. It follows that Love must desire immortality” (206E-207A). According to this quote, one cannot possess something forever unless one is immortal.
Analogous to the biological reproduction of children, the reproduction, or passing down, of an idea perpetuates the immortality of that idea.Hence, the idea of physical and mental reproduction comes into play. Diotima’s concepts of love thus indirectly build on Pausanias’ ideas of heavenly and commonly love. Commonly love refers to pregnancy in the physical body. More significantly, heavenly love refers to pregnancy in mind, which passes down intellectual offspring.
Socrates rejection of Alcibiades’ offer of sexual gratification then emphasizes that the notion that heavenly love is true path to seeking immortality.In classical Athens, it was traditionally considered socially acceptable for an older wise lover and a young beautiful beloved to exchange their better qualities to the other. Conventionally, the younger beloved would satisfy the lover’s sexual desires. In return, the older wiser lover would provide the younger beloved with irreplaceable source of knowledge, virtue and wisdom.
The traditional model of lover and beloved dictates that Socrates receives Alcibiades’ offer of sexual pleasure so that Socrates could return the favor.Many may argue that Socrates fails to play his role as a teacher to Alcibiades by refusing to engage in sexual activities. Therefore, the claim that Socrates is the embodiment of love seems undermined, because love is about the process of imparting, or reproducing, one’s wisdom. However, as Diotima suggests, the process of love requires close examination of the truth.
If the traditional model is flawed, then it should be modified. Hence, the question of whether Socrates should have engaged in sexual relations with Alcibiades should be more closely analyzed and evaluated.The misconception that Socrates fails his role as an educator is mainly due to the flawed conformist educational system. As the manifestation of the more pure, heavenly love, Socrates rejects the Alcibiades offer of common love.
In the words of Socrates, the lover “…the beauty of any one body is brother to the beauty of any other and that if he is to pursue beauty of form he’d be very foolish not to think that beauty of all bodies is on and the same…. one body is a small thing and despise it. ”(210B-C, 57) This quote demonstrates the universality of beauty that can be found among all bodies.The obsessive appreciation of one particular body may lead to neglecting of the rest of bodies the world has to offer. It further underscores the notion that wisdom should rely on investigation of the soul. The engagement in physical pleasure, or common love, would only serve as a distraction from reaching immortality of beautiful thoughts.
By refusing Alcibiades’ sexual offers, Socrates was merely remaining true to his own standards and ideals, as any other philosopher should. In addition, Athenians pride themselves for placing significance on the soul rather that the body.Ideally, sexual activities were meant only for the proliferation of children. Socrates’ restraint from sexual activities and strict adherence to matters of the soul is honorable from the perspective of Athenian social standards. Perhaps, another reason Socrates refuses Alcibiades is due to Alcibiades’ improper understanding on how to reach heavenly love. Alcibiades attempts to seduce Socrates, demonstrates his determination to attain immortality.
Although his intentions are respectable, the path he takes to reach immortality is incompatible with the heavenly notions of love.Diotima describes love as a process. The journey to reach immortality determines whether one is truly able to become immortal. She also states, “When he looks at Beauty in the only way that Beauty can be seen only then will it become possible for him to give birth not to images of virtue, but to true virtue. ” In this quote, Diotima expresses her belief on how to reach immortality. To truly experience the essence of beauty, one must be have the right mindset because true virtue cannot be seen with the eyes, but with the soul.
Like any other mentor, Socrates could have chosen to show images of virtue to Alcibiades. Yet, according to the quote, Alcibiades would not have been able to absorb the true beauty within without having the right mindset. Socrates’ indifference to Alcibiades’ sexual advances may be mistakenly seen as reluctance to share and reproduce beautiful thoughts. Ironically, Socrates’ apathy towards Alcibiades’ seduction forces Alcibiades to rethink and challenge traditional expectation and assumptions of mentor-pupil relationships.By leaving Alcibiades bewildered and embarrassed, Socrates is in essence guiding Alcibiades to break down old assumption.
Only after opening up Alcibiades’ eyes, or soul will Socrates be able to teach Alcibiades directly as a mentor and reproduce true beauty. Prior to explaining the method to reaching immortality, Socrates suggests to the audience through Diotima’s words that Love is merely a relational property that holds between two things. “First, that Love is a love of something, and, second, that he loves things of which he has a present need” (200E, 43).This quote refutes the assumption made by prior speakers that love is good or beautiful because people love beautiful things such as knowledge or wealth because they do not possess them. People do not love Love, even though everyone has Love, the desire for beauty.
Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus and Agathon appraise love for its youth and beauty because they mistook Love as the objects of love, instead of treating Love as the lover itself. In a sense, they describe Love as the beloved, while in actuality, Love is, by Diotima’s definition, the lover who aspires to possess and preserve beauty forever.This refined definition makes Socrates an ideal representation of Love, especially because of his endless quest for knowledge. It is evident that Socrates is the ultimate embodiment of love. He resembles Diatima’s concept of Love in numerous ways. He pursues immortality, beauty and wisdom, but does not possess any of these traits.
His ideology of love, for example, was referenced from Diotima, who is in possession of the knowledge. Socrates however is not the creator or owner of the notion of love. As a lover of wisdom, Socrates does pursue and seek such wisdom or beauty.Furthermore, he disinterest in Alcibiades’ sexual advancements because he seeks immortality through the pursuit of heavenly love as opposed to common love.
His rejection of the traditional educational system illustrates his will to critic and challenge conventional ideas to pursue true virtue and wisdom. Most significantly, he shares his wisdom and knowledge at the drinking party, eventually reproducing immortal ideas among his fellow speakers. By the end of the story, it becomes apparent that Socrates is the quintessential paradigm of love, for his everlasting thirst for wisdom and immortality with philosophy.
