What does Agathon say about love?

What does Agathon say about love?

Agathon suggests that Love is the happiest of the gods because he is most beautiful and best. He is beautiful because, contrary to Phaedrus’ claim, he is the youngest of the gods. He always avoids old age, and only associates with the young.

Why does Alcibiades want the Symposiasts to drink?

Why do you think Alcibiades wants to get the symposiasts to drink? Alcibiades wants everyone to drink because it was a norm in gathering. Alcibiades offers a speech of praise to Socrates instead of Love because he said that he would never praise anyone else if Socrates was around, even if it is gods or humans.

What is love according to Socrates?

which Socrates sets himself from the start; love, he says, is neither beautiful. nor good (though he does not mean it is ugly or bad, either). Love cannot. be beautiful because it is the desire to possess what is beautiful, and one. cannot desire that which one already possesses, Socrates argues.

What does Diotima say love is?

Love is neither mortal nor immortal, but is a spirit, which falls somewhere between being a god and being human. Spirits, Diotima explains, serve as intermediaries between gods and humans. They convey prayers and sacrifices from humans to gods, and send gifts and commands from gods to humans.

What is love to Diotima?

For Diotima, the most correct use of love of other human beings is to direct one’s mind to love of wisdom, or philosophy. The beautiful beloved inspires the mind and the soul and directs one’s attention to spiritual things.

What is the hierarchy of love?

The hierarchy is a system of ranking things in order of power, necessity, or importance; from top to bottom. This formula for love starts with a strong foundation which is self-love and ends with lasting-love. Each component within the hierarchy describes the dimensions that compose someone’s overall nature-of-appeal.

What is eros?

1 : the Greek god of erotic love — compare cupid. 2 : the sum of life-preserving instincts that are manifested as impulses to gratify basic needs, as sublimated impulses, and as impulses to protect and preserve the body and mind — compare death instinct.

What are the four levels of Diotima’s ladder of beauty?

Diotima maps out the stages in this ascent in terms of what sort of beautiful thing the lover desires and is drawn toward.

• A particular beautiful body.
• All beautiful bodies.
• Beautiful souls.
• Beautiful laws and institutions.
• The beauty of knowledge.
• Beauty itself – that is, the Form of the Beautiful.

Is Symposium worth reading?

The Symposium is fun and fairly short to read. Republic is an absolutely solid book even though I disagree with significant swathes of it. The style of writing and exposition makes it all very readable and enjoyable, depending on your taste as well as tolerance for arguments that might contrast with your moral compass.