The Symposium

1. Love's Nature: Beyond Simple Desire

“Love is the desire to have the good forever.”

More than just attraction. The Symposium explores love as more than mere physical attraction or romantic desire. It delves into the philosophical nature of love, revealing it as a fundamental human drive for something more profound. Love is not just about wanting something, but about wanting to possess the good, and to possess it eternally.

Love as a lack. Socrates, through Diotima, argues that love is born from a sense of lack. We desire what we do not have, and this desire is what fuels our pursuit of love. This lack can be of beauty, goodness, or even immortality. This concept challenges the common notion of love as a feeling of fullness or completeness.

Love's purpose. Love is not just a feeling, but a force that drives us towards something greater. It is a desire for the good, and this desire is what motivates us to seek out beauty, knowledge, and virtue. Love, therefore, is not just about personal fulfillment, but about the pursuit of a higher purpose.

2. Two Aphrodites, Two Loves: Heavenly vs. Common

“Common Love is genuinely ‘common’ and undiscriminating in its effects; this is the kind of love that inferior people feel.”

Dual nature of love. Pausanias introduces the idea that there are two types of love, corresponding to two Aphrodites: the Heavenly Aphrodite and the Common Aphrodite. This distinction highlights the different motivations and values that can drive love.

Common Love. This type of love is based on physical attraction and is indiscriminate. It is a fleeting and superficial love that seeks immediate gratification. It is associated with the younger Aphrodite, born of Zeus and Dione, and is driven by base desires.

Heavenly Love. This love is directed towards the mind and character of the beloved. It is a more enduring and noble love that seeks virtue and wisdom. It is associated with the older Aphrodite, born of Uranus, and is driven by a desire for intellectual and moral growth. This love is more selective and seeks a deeper connection.

3. The Power of Love: A Cosmic Force

“So Love as a whole has great and mighty – or rather total – power, when you put all this together.”

Love's universal influence. Eryximachus expands the concept of love beyond human relationships, arguing that it is a cosmic force that governs all aspects of the universe. Love is not just a human emotion, but a fundamental principle that shapes the natural world.

Love in medicine and music. Eryximachus uses his expertise in medicine and music to illustrate how love operates in these fields. In medicine, love is the force that brings harmony to the body, while in music, it is the force that creates concord between different notes. This demonstrates love's role in creating balance and order.

Love in the cosmos. Love is also the force that governs the seasons and the movements of the stars. When love is well-ordered, it brings harmony and balance to the universe. When it is lawless and violent, it causes destruction and chaos. This highlights love's power to shape the world around us.

4. The Myth of the Androgynes: Seeking Wholeness

“Each of us is a matching half of a human being, because we’ve been cut in half like flatfish, making two out of one, and each of us is looking for his own matching half.”

Original human nature. Aristophanes presents a myth about the original human beings, who were androgynous creatures with two faces, four arms, and four legs. These beings were powerful and threatened the gods, so Zeus split them in half, creating the two genders we know today.

The search for wholeness. This myth explains why humans are driven by a desire to find their other half. Love, in this context, is the longing for wholeness and the reunion with our original nature. This desire is not just about physical attraction, but about a deep-seated need for completion.

Different types of love. The myth also explains the different types of love that exist. Those who were originally split from androgynous beings are attracted to the opposite sex, while those who were split from male or female beings are attracted to the same sex. This highlights the diversity of human love and desire.

5. Love as a Ladder: From Physical to Divine Beauty

“When someone goes up by these stages, through loving boys in the correct way, and begins to catch sight of that beauty, he has come close to reaching the goal.”

Progressive understanding of beauty. Diotima describes love as a ladder that leads from the love of physical beauty to the love of divine beauty. This journey involves a gradual process of intellectual and spiritual growth.

Stages of love. The first stage is the love of a single beautiful body. This then expands to the love of all beautiful bodies. Next, one learns to appreciate the beauty of minds, then the beauty of practices and laws, and finally, the beauty of knowledge. This progression highlights the importance of intellectual and moral development in the pursuit of love.

Ultimate beauty. The final stage of love is the contemplation of beauty itself, which is described as absolute, pure, and unchanging. This is the ultimate goal of love, and it is through this contemplation that one can achieve true virtue and immortality. This concept elevates love to a spiritual and transcendent experience.

6. Socrates' Method: Questioning to Uncover Truth

“It’s the truth you can’t argue against, my dear friend Agathon.”

Socratic questioning. Socrates uses his characteristic method of questioning to challenge Agathon's initial claims about love. Through a series of carefully crafted questions, he exposes the contradictions and inconsistencies in Agathon's arguments. This method highlights the importance of critical thinking and self-examination in the pursuit of truth.

Exposing ignorance. Socrates' questioning reveals that Agathon, despite his eloquent speech, does not fully understand the nature of love. This demonstrates the importance of humility and the recognition of one's own ignorance in the pursuit of knowledge.

The pursuit of truth. Socrates' method is not just about winning an argument, but about uncovering the truth. He uses questioning as a tool to guide his interlocutors towards a deeper understanding of the subject at hand. This highlights the importance of intellectual honesty and the willingness to challenge one's own beliefs.

7. Alcibiades' Confession: Love's Conflicting Power

“He’s the only person in whose company I’ve had an experience you might think me incapable of – feeling shame with someone; I only feel shame in his company.”

Alcibiades' drunken praise. Alcibiades, in his drunken state, delivers a passionate and revealing speech about Socrates. He describes Socrates as a Silenus figure, outwardly unattractive but inwardly full of wisdom and virtue. This highlights the deceptive nature of appearances and the importance of looking beyond the surface.

Conflicting emotions. Alcibiades confesses that he is both attracted to and repelled by Socrates. He is drawn to Socrates' wisdom and virtue, but he is also frustrated by his inability to seduce him. This highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of love and desire.

The power of Socrates. Alcibiades reveals that Socrates has a profound effect on him, making him feel shame and dissatisfaction with his own life. This demonstrates the transformative power of love and the ability of a truly virtuous person to inspire others to seek a higher path.

8. The Symposium's Legacy: Enduring Questions on Love

“Well, Phaedrus and the rest of you, this is what Diotima said, and I was convinced.”

Unresolved questions. The Symposium does not provide definitive answers to the questions it raises about love. Instead, it presents a variety of perspectives and leaves the reader to grapple with these complex issues. This highlights the enduring nature of these questions and their relevance to human experience.

The nature of love. The dialogue explores the nature of love as a desire, a lack, a cosmic force, and a path to spiritual enlightenment. These different perspectives highlight the multifaceted nature of love and its ability to encompass a wide range of human experiences.

The pursuit of wisdom. The Symposium ultimately emphasizes the importance of the pursuit of wisdom and virtue as the highest form of love. It suggests that true love is not just about personal fulfillment, but about the pursuit of a higher purpose and the desire to become a better person.

Last updated: April 4, 2025