NoPic Symposium 2013

7/29/2019 NoPic Symposium 2013

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The Symposium

ofPlato


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MC Quiz for Understanding the Text Odyssey and Symposium

http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/oge/gef/studyqs/humanity/interactive/


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:

Richard David Precht


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Core Question:

How does Love open our eyes to anIdeal Way of Living?


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From Mythos to Logos

Platos Symposium Logos through Mythos


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Ancient Greek philosophers

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle


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Born in Athens, father Sophroniskos, a scruptor and

mother Phainarete, probably a midwife

Married with Xanthippe and had three sons

Took part in the Peloponnesian War as heavy-armed

foot-soldier (hoplite)

Held several public offices, refused to execute the order

of the Thirty Tyrants to arrest a political opponent

Main occupation: discussed virtues, knowledge and

other things with people at the market (agora)

Condemned to death in Athens, refused to go into exile

and died in prison

Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)


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According to the oracle

of Delphi, Socrates wasthe wisest man.

PlatoApology, 21a


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I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us

knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knowssomething when he does not, whereas when I do not

know, I do not think I know; so I am likely to be wiser than

he to this small extent,that I do not think I know what I do

not know.

PlatoApology, 21d

Why is Socrates the wisest man?


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Know thyself (gnthi seauton) inscribed in theforecourt of the Temple of Apollon at Delphi


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The Socratic method


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The Elenchos (refutation)

The interlocutor is asked to make clear his viewpoint

He will discover that his viewpoint (or definition) istoo narrow or self-contradictory (aporia)

Inconsistency of speakinginconsistency of thinking

He is forced to re-examine the viewpoints he has takenfor granted


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for the unexamined

life is not worth livingfor men

Plato, Apology38a


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Through question and answer the interlocutor is invitedto rethink his viewpoint and is thus led to a deeper and

clearer understanding of it. He is guided to grasp the

correct viewpointwhich was latent in him.

The method of Maieutics (midwifery) The positive side of the Platonic method


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Plato (428/427-348/347 B.C.)

Born in Athens, both his father Ariston and his motherPerictione came from prominent families

Became Socrates follower at about 20

Refused to join the regime of the Thirty Tyrants

Refused to participate in the Athenian democracy after

its re-establishment

Traveled to Megara (Greece), Cyrene (Libya), Sicily(Italy) and maybe even to Egypt

Founded the Academy in the northwestern outskirt of

Athens at the age of 40 (387 B.C.)


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Stephanos pagination

Henricus Stephanus

(Henri Estienne) Plato edition 1578

Page 142

142a

142b

142c

142d


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a symposium


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Symposium

symposion syn together

posis drinking, drink


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a symposium

a drinking party, an enlightened conversation

A fresco taken from the north wall of the Tomb of the Diver

showing the image of a symposium


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Anselm Feuerbach,

Platos Symposium (1869)


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Six speakers, six eulogies of Eros

PhaedrusPausanias

EryximachusAristophanes

AgathonSocrates

and an interloper


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Pederasty in ancient Greece

paiderastia

pais = kid, boy

erasts = lover


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Lover: older, maybe

married, supposed to bethe intellectual and ethicalteacher of the beloved

The beloved (the boy):younger, must avoid over-ready compliance


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I can see nothing better in life for a

young boy, as soon as he is old enough,than finding a good lover (erasts), norfor a lover finding a boyfriend(paidika).

Plato, Symposium 178c

Phaedrus


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The Eros associated with CommonAprodite is, in all sense of the word,

common For as start, he is aslikely to fall in love with women aswith boys. Secondly, he falls in lovewith their bodies rather than their

minds. Thirdly, picks the mostunintelligent people he can find,since all hes interested in is thesexual act.

Symposium, 181abPausanias

How about the heavenly Eros?


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But I cannot accept his implicationthat Eros is found only in humanhearts, and is aroused only byhuman beauty. I am a doctor byprofession that Eros is aroused by

many other things as well, and thathe is found also in nature in thephysical life of all animals

So great and widespread in fact, universal is the powerpossessed, in general by all Eros

Symposium, 186a and 188d

Eryximachus


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Our original nature was not as it isnow, but quite different. For onething there are three sexes, ratherthan two Secondly, each human

being formed a complete whole So he [Zeus] started cutting them into two Each ofus is a mere fragment of a man (like half a tally-stick);

weve been splite in two Were all looking for ourother half

Symposium, 189de and 191d

Aristophanes


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How about Socrates?


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Then suddenly he will see a beauty of a breathtakingnature It is eternal, neither coming to be nor passing

away, neither increasing nor decreasing. Moreover it is

not beauty in part, and ugly in part, nor is it beautiful at

one time, and not at another; nor beautiful in somerespects, but not in others; nor beautiful here and not ugly

there, as if beautiful in some peoples eye, but not inothers. It will not appear to him as the beauty of face, or

hands, or anything physical

Plato, Symposium 210e-211a


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The Ideas the Beauty itself,

intelligible, changeless, eternal, objects of knowledge

Worldly things numerous beautiful things,

sensible, always in change, perishable

PlatosTwo-World Theory


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Immortality, beauty and the pursuit of wisdomSymposium, 206a-209e

Human beings want to be everlasting and immortal

They try to achieve immortality by means ofreproduction

There are two forms of reproduction, physical andmental

Mental reproduction is higher than physical one

Reproduction, both physical and mental, needs somebeautiful medium

The highest form of mental reproduction is the

attainment of wisdom, i.e. the knowledge of ideas


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Climbing up to the ideasPlatos ladder of love

Symposium, 210a f.


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Physical beauty of individuals

Physical beauty ingeneral

Beauty in mind/character

Beauty in customs andinstitutions

Beauty in knowledges/sciences

Beauty itself = the idea of beauty


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Eros ist

Love of physical beauty

Love of beauty in character

Universal force of harmony

Finding the other self of us

Pursuing the eternal, absolute beauty itself

and more


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Socrates image


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The person Socrates

The speech of Alcibiades

The opening scenes the conversation

between Apollodorus and his friend and the

account of Aristodemus (172a-175e)


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Alcibiades:

I think hes very like one of those Silenus-figuressculptors have on their shelves You can open them up,

and when you do you find little figures of the godsinside. I also think Socrates is like the satyr Marsyas You may not play the pipes, like Marsyas, butwhat youdo is much more amazing

Symposium, 215bc


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Drunken Silenus

2nd

c. B.C.E.

King Midas asked him:What is the best thing fora man?

Silenos answered


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Butwhat you do is much

more amazing Plato, Symposium 215c

Marsyas


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415 B.C.E. defects to Sparta,advising Spartans on how to defeat

Athens in Peloponnesian WarAround 412 B.C.E. falling out offavour, defects to Persia

407 B.C.E. temporarily returnsto Athens

404 B.C.E. murdered

Alcibiades Athenian orator, politican

and general (450-404 B.C.E.)


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He [Socrates] seduces them, like a lover seducinghis boyfriend, and then it turns out hes not their

lover at all; in fact, theyre his lovers.Alcibiades in Symposium, 222b

What kind of lover is Socrates?


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What is meant byphilosopher, alover of wisdom?

Wh t th t f l ( f t f ti


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1. What are the aspects of love (purpose, feature, function ornature of love) introduced in the speeches ofPhaedrusand Pausanias? Put any one of them in the perspective ofthe ladder of love.

2. What are the aspects of love (purpose, feature, function ornature of love) introduced in the speeches ofEryximachusandAgathon? Put any one of them in the perspective ofthe ladder of love.

3. Examine Diotimas speech, as told bySocrates (What isnature of Eros, why is reproduction important? What arethe levels of ladder and according to the text, how can aperson climb up to the top)? (201d-212c) (2 Groups)

4. How do Socrates andAlcibiades describe each other. IsSocrates a good lover? Is Socrates a lover? What is therelationship between the image of Eros and that ofSocrates?

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