... Plato's "Symposium," the very influential speech by Diotima describes an ascent from loving particular kinds of beauty to loving Beauty itself. Diotima proves to be incredibly intelligent in the points she makes through her description of this ascent. Ultimately, it can be deduced that by being a lover of knowledge, one can in turn be a lover and seer of true Beauty. Throughout the Symposium ... to give up for that blessing, Diotima asks. The ascent Diotima describes goes against many of the previous points made in the speeches before by the other philosophers. A speech in particular bei...

• Word Count: 1088
• Approx Pages: 4

1 Eros, or love, is the topic for discussion in Plato's Symposium. In a series of speeches, men debate the superlative meaning of eros the entire night. Socrates concludes the night by giving what is thought to be the last speech. ... 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 speech that the opinion of a woman is taken ... it "fills us with togetherness and drains all of ...

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

In Plato's Symposium there are three major speeches given by Aristophanes, Socrates and Alcibiades, where each portrays a different aspect of human sexuality and love. Aristophanes" speech is a fantastic representation of humans that were separated into two halves engaged ... heaven to attack the gods, really refers to them (190b). This attack on the gods is what eventually led to the condition that humans have constantly been in since, as Plato tells us; The gods didn't see how they could kill them, wiping out the human race with thunderbolts as they"d done with the giants; if they did that...

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

Throughout history Love has been a topic of conversation. Plato's Symposium provides us with many different views and theories about Love. Socrates and his intellectual partners discuss what Love is and twist it's meaning in every possible way. One of the memorable speeches is the Speech of Aristophanes. After describing history of Love, he proposes that each person is half of a complete love relationship, a whole ... ...

• Word Count: 367
• Approx Pages: 1