... ). I think that one of the most powerful claims in the entire text is that of how madness is essential to pursue virtually everything, including Phaedrus" beloved wisdom. In the quote Socrates is not suggesting or insinuating an aspect of his lesson; he is not merely attempting to get Phaedrus to think, as he ... of that madness is the pursuit of wisdom. The main idea is the madness that drives you to, for example have the courage to see your beloved, to be "daring", a daring that is driven by pursuit but springs wildly foreword, causing all possible trouble to his mate and to the chario...

• Word Count: 2193
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a stronger bond of friendship than parents have, because the children of their partnership are more beautiful and more immortal." (209c, my emphasis) Though the lover is initially inspired by his beloved's physical as well as mental beauty, the emphasis of the homoerotic relationship Diotima describes is not on the sexual gratification of the lover, but rather on the perpetuation of the ... lover's virtue and wisdom through teaching the beloved. Indeed, a step on the ascent to the ultimate form of love is to see "beauty of body as something petty." (210c) Poets like Homer and Hesiod, la...

• Word Count: 1318
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... teachings. In Diotima's ladder of eros, she speaks of the ascent to philosophy, involving the man finding another younger male to use as his muse, through a pederastic relationship. But, the beloved somehow disappears (even if he remains a silent partner) in the overwhelming madness that accompanies the quest for and vision of wisdom. Eventually, though not without difficulty, Augustine came to recognize ... be resisted. Plato makes it clear that if aesthetic attractions impede moral improvement, they must always be subordinated, for the good life is the moral life. The problem with the...

• Word Count: 857
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... also aware that by relocating to another state he would be treated far more harshly then by following the orders of Athens. This is Crito's last chance to save his beloved friend from death. Socrates seems to have his mind made up on what he should do. Can Crito redirect his thinking and save his friend from death? Socrates shows respect ... with the state of Athens and B) because of this decision the courts will be injuring him by death and have already injured his dignity, by running he is injuring his beloved state and the laws. If he runs he is showing disrespect for the country tha...

• Word Count: 1037
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... the search for the object of your love would be over. Thus if the driving force behind your love was the constant search for your beloved, then it can be inferred that once you find your beloved, the driving force behind your love ceases therefore so would the love. Secondly, the chances of actually finding your ideal love are next to impossible ... ...

• Word Count: 608
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and each should be concentrated on. The speeches started with Phaedrus who began to state many of the powers of love. He spoke about the honor between one and their beloved and how it was a great virtue in a relationship. The point that Phaedrus made was that a man of any nature would rather suffer humiliation in front of a great mass of people ... even if it may be viewed as honorable or flatterous and that a person of noble love would not be compensated in any way other that virtue or knowledge from their beloved. To this he adds that evil love is that of the body and no the soul. Evi...

• Word Count: 2004
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... not care that he has become detached from the physical world and left behind all earthly existence as a result of this newfound beauty. Plato underscores the intense feelings for the beloved who has become, "the object of his worship, and the physician who can alone assuage the greatness of his pain" (63). This authentic state has furthermore propelled this ... ...

• Word Count: 795
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... gods lack nothing a human could provide, therefore making those acts of prayer or sacrifice, nothing but for the pleasure of the gods. The acts would then fit under what is beloved by the gods, which was already defeated as the second proposal. The definition of justice was left for a later discussion in the Republic. In the Republic, the first attempt at ... ...

• Word Count: 1737
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... and very believable. The problem arises when he says, "For I know not any greater blessing to a young man who is beginning life than a virtuous lover, or to the lover, than a beloved youth. (Symposium, 20)" The moral value of this sentence is questionable. It basically condones, even promotes, homosexuality and the abuse of children. While these were accepted practices in Ancient Greece ... ...

• Word Count: 1657
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... characters, the tale goes, are really a mixture of metals, from the most valuable, gold, to the most base, brass and iron. Citizens of gold are the most worthy, and the beloved of the State. The others align themselves into a kind of social cast accordingly. Plato' then asks whether the allegory could not serve as one of the State's most important myths ... ...

• Word Count: 768
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... did not wish to make its nature clear to me, but you told me an affect or quality of it," 5) "As it is, the lover of inquiry must follow his beloved wherever it may lead him." 6) "I prefer nothing, unless it is true." 7) "If you had no clear knowledge of piety and impiety you would never have ventured to prosecute your old ... ...

• Word Count: 1937
• Approx Pages: 8

... man is at risk for knowing all, or is god? In the beginning there was nothing and god created all. When god created man he was to be his most beloved creation to be sat on a pedestal and marveled at. God gave man everything he could ever need including undying love. But man rejects everything he has been given to gain ... ...

• Word Count: 672
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School