... from a "previous" encounter, with a woman (Diotima), in which Diotima, not Socrates, gives meaning to the word and concept of eros. This is ironic because from the beginning of the Symposium it is made explicitly clear that women are not wise enough to know and discuss eros. This is the first ... and difficult to describe. Ambiguity is perceived in all the descriptions of love because no one speech encompasses all the parameters that pertain to eros, either the god or the action. Also because no one is able to give a concrete definition of eros and there is a discussion about it that las...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... filled with cowardice and pain. Socrates countered this by stating the obvious that the lowliest thief and the most magnificent king feel pleasure and pain in roughly equal proportions. Because of this definition, "good" men are not always pleasant and "bad" men are not always aggravated, and Socrates dismissed it. Socrates sought real definitions, not nominal definitions- ones shaped by ... was homosexual, so he may have some sympathy for discrimination, although during his time homosexuality was more accepted. Just as Plato was a student of Socrates, Aristotle was a student of Plato. Ar...

• Word Count: 3385
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School