Platos Symposium The Nature Of Love - 1592 Words

Plato’s Symposium describes the nature of love to be the driving force towards immortality. Aristophanes perpetuates this idea through his allegorical description of human’s original nature, and the component of the driving force of love within that nature. The underlying goal of this force of love is immortality, though he does not directly articulate it in his speech. It is with the emergence of Socrates’ ideas that we are equipped with sufficient evidence reinforcing Aristophanes’ story to be one in which immortality is the end goal, and that we are made to realize Socrates’ speech is really a further elaboration on what Aristophanes put forward, providing the tools to truly comprehend his true point. Aristophanes describes the†¦show more content†¦This is one way to restore this original nature, but he introduces a means to arrive to this state through an intellectual connection as opposed to a physical one: â€Å"under present circums tances what comes closest to it must be the best: that is to find a loved one who naturally fits your own character† (193c). This carries the implication that happiness can be achieved through the unity of two minds which complement each other. The conclusion of immortality from the intellectual unity of love is clarified by the Pausanias. According to him, â€Å"[the lover of physical beauty] is not constant, because he loves something that is not constant: as soon as the bloom of the body fades, which is what attracted him, ‘he flies away and is gone’ [†¦] But the man who loves goodness of character is constant throughout his life, since he has become united with something constant† (183e). This signifies the permanence in the love of the mind, for intelligence does not fade. According to Socrates, love desires â€Å"to have the good forever† (206a). Therefore, when humans were united in their physical form, they still desired a permanence abo ve the mortal realm they were in. That is why they attempted to overthrow the gods, and to achieve immortality. The realities of this immortality in which it is able to be achieved are elaborated on through Socrates’ description of love at all of its stages, and that immortality is attainable through both the physical and intellectual love —Show MoreRelated Aristophanes Agathon in Women at the Thesmophoria Essays1459 Words   |  6 PagesAgathon must be looked at, which Plato’s Symposium offers. By comparing Agathon’s portrayal in both works, views on Agathon and on Greek homoeroticism can be inferred. 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