“Love is difficult to define, and there maybe different definitions. But one definition of love, is an utter, absolute, and unqualified wish for the other’s happiness” (). One of the most important Greek philosophers in Western history, Socrates contributed to many theories, and impacted the field of ethics throughout his life. He was well known in Athens for his knowledge and teachings to the youth. He was the creator of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, both used to convey his lessons to the Athenians. Socrates had many disciples throughout his life including Plato, one of the more popular students. Plato is the author of many philosophical writings, many of which are about Socrates. He questioned the idea of virtue and studied the …show more content…
This is referred to as Plato’s ladder of love. According to this theory, a lover must give up all previous objects or individuals as he progresses upward on the ladder aiming to discover the Ideal Form of Beauty (Wiki Symposium). Plato describes the steps of the ladder of love to be first, the view of physical beauty, second the view of beauty in general, and following that, the moral beauty of minds and knowledge. Finally, the absolute idea, to view that of beauty itself, and to attain the love of wisdom, is Plato’s last ring on the ladder (Traumatized). Socrates believed “by going through these stages, one will ascend from loving particular kinds of beauty to loving Beauty itself, from which all beautiful things derive their nature” (Sparknotes). This concept became the starting point of the Platonic love theory, a type of love that is pure and non-sexual. In the end, Socrates concluded that there is no greater companion for human nature than …show more content…
Their work has been of great value as philosophers and researchers today study the idea of love. Without their knowledge and viewpoints on the matter, theorists would not have an initial point to base their contemporary research off of. The beliefs of what love is, and the different levels it holds were concepts philosophers studied to help develop and strengthen their metaphysical opinions on love. In the end, Diotima continues to share her perceptions on the principles of love. She declares that once you have been in love, you will never be seduced again. If this is true, how can one explain the desire for an affair or
Elie Weisel and his family, taken from their home along with hundreds of other Jews from their hometown, were brought to Nazi Germany’s Concentration Camps. “From this moment, you come under the command of the German army…any of you who is later found to have kept anything will be shot on the spot,” (Weisel 15). Even prior to entering Birkenau, Auschwitz, or Burma, the prisoners were forced to give up all belongings under the threat of death. In a godless and unloving environment, a twelve-year-old Elie must now survive against all odds in a concentration camp. “You’re going to be burned. Frizzled away. Turned into ashes,” (Weisel 20). Adolph Hitler had no concern for the Jew’s basic human rights and swore that he would kill them all. The Jews had done nothing to hurt or overthrow Hitler, but they still became the target of his wrath.
Eliezer’s horrible experiences at Auschwitz left him caught up in his sorrows and anger toward God. His loss of faith in God arises at Auschwitz. He doubts arise when he first sees the furnace pits in which the Nazis are burning babies. This horrifying experience ...
It is well known that Plato, a devoted student of Socrates, chronicled many of Socrates' speeches and conversations. Every so often one can find instances where Socrates and other players in these conversations seem to contradict themselves, or at least muddle their arguments. One such occurrence of this is in Plato's Symposium and Plato's Phaedrus. Both texts speak of love in its physical sense, both texts describe love and its effects, and both discuss how it is best realized, yet they do this in very different fashions, and for different reasons.
The ideas presented by the patrons in Plato’s Symposium differed immensely. All pertaining to a main topic, being love, but none having the same conclusion. Two speeches in particular, those of Pausanias and Aristophanes, seemed to oppose the most. Many elements of their arguments contradicted that of the others, none more than the origin of love and the whom is the eromenos of love.
This essay explores the differences between the nature of Sappho 's Love and Plato 's Love by examining their respective works. First, we will define each of the author 's idea of love. Next, we will discover what makes them different. After, we will find some of the objections and observations once one places these two philosophies together. Finally, this essay will explore personal extrapolations and opinions made from reading both works
I have always thought that there was only one type of love, which was that feeling of overwhelming liking to someone else. I am aware that Lust does exist and that it is separate from Love, being that the desire for someone's body rather their mind. In Plato's Symposium, Plato speaks of many different types of love, loves that can be taken as lust as well. He writes about seven different points of view on love coming from the speakers that attend the symposium in honor of Agathon. Although all these men bring up excellent points on their definitions on love, it is a woman that makes the best definition be known. I will concentrate on the difference between the theory of Common and Heavenly love brought up by Pausanias and the important role that Diotima plays in the symposium.
According to Rudolf Reder, one of only two Jews to survive the camp at Belzec, Poland, he describes the circumstance during his time at the prison camp, “The brute Schmidt was our guard; he beat and kicked us if he thought we were not working fast enough. He ordered his victim to lie down and gave them 25 lashes with a whip, ordering them to count out loud. If the victim made a mistake, he was given 50 lashes….Thirty or 40 of us were shot every day….” This quotation shows the SS guards treat the Jews inhumanly. As these Jews acclimate to the situation, their primitive survival instincts become stronger over time. They put their lives as their first priority and will do anything to survive. However, in the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, Eliezer Shlomo the protagonist adversely demonstrates more commitment to family than to himself in the concentration camps. Before World War II, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party gain popularity by promising to make Germany a rich and powerful nation again after their defeat in World War I. The Nazis publicly blame the Jews for Germany’s loss of World War I and the Great Depression, resulting in promoting the anti-Semitism. Although he admits to the power of the instinct for self-preservation, because of his commitment to his father throughout the prison camp experience, and because of his reactions to others sons who do abandon or turn on their fathers, Wiesel apparently favors commitment to family over commitment to self-preservation. Eliezer never attempts to show commitment to family until the deportation to Birkenau.
The Auschwitz Concentration Camp was a camp used to hold Jews during the Holocaust; the Auschwitz Camp was the largest camp of its time. Auschwitz had three main complexes and 36 sub-camps. The three main camps were Auschwitz 1-Stamlagger, created in 1940, built for Polish Political Prisoners, the second camp was named Auschwitz 2-Birkenau, created in 1941, there was more than a hundred thousand prisoners and the building was used for Mass Killing center, it had Crematoria and Gas Chambers. They killed over 2,000 Jews a day in Auschwitz. The third camp was called Auschwitz III-Monowitz, created in 1944, used for supplied forced labor.
As the last speaker, and the most important one, Socrates connects his ideas with Diotima of Mantinea’s story of Love’s origin, nature and purpose. Different from the earlier five speakers who regard Love as an object and praise different sides of it, Socrates, referring to Diotima’s idea, considers Love as a pursuit of beauty gradually ranging from “physical beauty of people in general” (Symposium, Plato, 55) to the “true beauty” (55). The first five speeches bond with each other. Each of them mentions the opinions of the former in order to either support or against them. However, just like the elements of a beautiful picture, they fail to show us the integration of love.
Love is a concept that has puzzled humanity for centuries. This attachment of one human being to another, not seen as intensely in other organisms, is something people just cannot wrap their heads around easily. So, in an effort to understand, people write their thoughts down. Stories of love, theories of love, memories of love; they all help us come closer to better knowing this emotional bond. One writer in particular, Sei Shōnagon, explains two types of lovers in her essay "A Lover’s Departure": the good and the bad.
Diotima says when using the ladder one, “…should go from one to two to all beautiful bodies, and from beautiful bodies to beautiful practices, and from beautiful bodies to beautiful practices, and from practices to beautiful forms of learning” (Plato 49). This progression is important to be able to get the highest value out of love which is to get the ultimate knowledge that it can provide about beauty and good. Sappho and Alcibiades misuse these steps in different ways. Sappho says that some believe that the most beautiful sight on earth is that of a powerful army, either on foot or on ships, “But I say that it is what you love” (Carson). Sappho thinks the most beautiful sight is what you love, but according to Diotima’s ladder people should love things because they are beautiful, not that things are beautiful because you love them.
Diotima claims that love is the desire to possess good for eternity and we must also desire immortality. People only love what is good, as we will not pursue another individual unless that individual is good. Happiness is when the desire to have good and beautiful things. Thus, saying the lover of beautiful things desires “that they become his own” (Symposium, 50). However, we desire what we do not possess. The good is happiness, which is believe to be the end itself that is when the lover of good things has what he desire, only then he will have happiness. Thus, seeking for this individuals may get confused with beauty and instead of seeking an experience they search for the sensory version of beauty and not the intellectual beauty.
In classical Greek literature the subject of love is commonly a prominent theme. However, throughout these varied texts the subject of Love becomes a multi-faceted being. From this common occurrence in literature we can assume that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real life context in the tragedy “Hippolytus” by Euripides. This brings the philosophical views made by Pausanius into a real-life context.
Socrates and Plato were some of the world’s most famous philosophers. Yet, they caused much trouble in the midst of their philosophizing. These philosophers, in the view of the political elites, were threatening the Athenian democracy with their philosophy. But why did they go against the status quo? What was their point in causing all of this turmoil? Plato and Socrates threatened the democracy as a wake-up call. They wanted the citizens to be active thinkers and improve society. This manifested itself in three main ways: Socrates’ life, his student Plato’s life, and their legacy in our modern age.
Western philosophy has been around since before the time of Jesus. Few philosophers have had as much influence on the world as Plato in western philosophy. Born over 400 years before Jesus, Plato’s influence may be second only to Christianity in this day and age (outside of eastern philosophy). One of Plato’s greatest works, and considered by many his masterpiece, is The Republic, which is widely read today and covers many topics. In The Republic, Plato presents many interesting ideas and thoughts that look to expand one’s wisdom and knowledge of the world. Plato uses a unique style of writing and welcomes controversy and opposing opinions. Some of the main concepts covered are justice, both on an individual and societal level, what is the nature of a man’s soul, the order and character of a just city-state, the forms of government, and theories of universals such as the Forms, and virtue. However, this book is mainly thought of as a philosophical treatise on politics. The main character in the Republic is Socrates, while other characters like Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, Glaucon, and Adeimantus help Socrates navigate through the problems presented by conventional wisdom, while displaying Plato’s thoughts and wisdom. Each of these characters play a key role in setting up Plato’s ideas and thoughts, while bringing to the story their own perspective and intellect. While Plato was an understudy of Socrates, and became the philosopher he is because of Socrates, Plato uses Socrates as a fictional character in his writing and expels his knowledge mainly through him and the conversations he has with the other characters.