After reading the Symposium reflect on the ideas, arguments, conceptions, and perspectives Plato offers. Consider one of them that you find intriguing, compelling, or important to your understanding

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 Symposiu m, 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 pag es 1 -2, what is the main topic A pollodorus ’ companion wants him t o discuss ? • Phaedrus ’ Sp eech (p gs. 7 -9) o W hat is the account of lo ve provided by Phaedrus ? How is love defined? o How is a relationship b etween a lo ver and beloved different from other relationships? • Pausanias ’ Speech (pgs. 9-13) o W hat acco unt 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 l ove mentioned? o What rules does he t hink societ y should have to regulate love relationships? o How is a vulgar lover distinguished from a noble lov er? And a dishon orable lover from an honorable lover? • Eryximach us ’ Speech (pgs. 14 -16 ) o What is the account of love provided by Eryximach us ? o Ho w does he contrast his account from the one give n by Pa usanias? o With respect t o human bodies , what are the tw o loves he distinguishes between? How does he define them? o What does he believe are the parallels between music and m edicin e? • Aristop hanes ’ Speech (pgs. 1 6-20 ) o How has the powe r of l ove been misunderstoo d? o How did human nature exist be fore men and women were separated from each other? o Given the mythology presented , h ow does he de fine love ? • Agathon ’s Speech (pgs. 22 -24 ) o How does A gathon contrast his account wi th those before him? o How does he describe Love as ha ving beauty , vir tue, a nd wisdom ? • Socrates ’ Speech ( pgs . 24-37 ) o What is Socrates ’ criticism of the spe eches 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 natu re of Love? o How does Diotima conceive of philosophers? And i gnorant 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 t o Love? o What is the relationship between love , birth (generation) and immortality ? o Explain Diotim a’s distinction between those who are pregnant in the body and t hose who are pregnant in the soul. o When Diotima discuss es the “greater and more hidden ” mysteries of love, what are the three stag es she mention s? A nalysis 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 sti r.” Aristodemus says this happens from time to time: “He has a wa y of stopping anywhere and los ing 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 philo sophers relate to common peop le, what does Socrat es 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 law s are needed to regulate love relationsh ips? Or should anything be so cially and legally permissible? Do some of the norms and l aws Pausanias menti ons seem reasonable and justified? Are there other norm s and law s that you would inclu de? If so, what? Relatedly , Pausanias ment ion s how society accept s 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 l ove that we would otherwise find st range , weird, or even crazy? Why or why not? • On page 17 , Aristophanes claim s that ori ginal human nature contained “man, wom an, and the union of the two [androgynous] .” Putt ing aside for a moment the Greek mythology in which h e embeds this claim, considering the current cultural moment with respect to how we understand g ender , how would you evaluat e this claim? • With respect to how Ari stophanes define s 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 li mitations, if any, do es such an explanation pos sess ? • On pages 34 -35, w ith respect to Diotima ’s claims as to human ’s desire for im mortality, do you think humans have a desire to leave behind a part of themselves after they die? D o you think this desire explains why humans make the specific life choices and actions that Diotima mentions ? Or are there are other reasons for wh y humans make the specific life choices she mentions? • On page s 36 -37 , c oncerning Diotima ’s description of divine beauty , do you think we should asp ire to know such pro found bea uty in the world? Why or why not?