Plato on Love
Gurinder Purewal
Introduction
Access the Introduction via the Internet Archive: Plato’s Symposium — A Critical Guide (pp. 1–8) (Destrée and Giannopoulou 2017)
Reading
Access the reading via the Internet Classics Archive: Symposium (Plato 360 B.C.E)
Discussion Questions
Influence of Socratic Philosophy
- In what ways does Socrates’s philosophy, as discussed by Apollodorus, challenge traditions views on virtue and love?
Personal Experience
- How does Apollodorus’s personal experience influence his view of Socratic philosophy?
Aristophanes’ Myth
Aristophanes puts forth a claim of the origin of humans and nature of love.
- How does this myth illustrate his view of love as a longing for completeness?
Bibliography
Destrée, Pierre and Zina Giannopoulou, eds. 2017. “Introduction.” In Plato’s Symposium: A Critical Guide. Cambridge, EN: Cambridge University Press.
Plato. 360 B.C.E. “Symposium,” translated by Benjamin Jowett. Internet Classics Archive. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html.
How to Cite This Page
Purewal, Gurinder. 2024. “Plato on Love.” In Great Thinkers, edited by Gurinder Purewal and Jenna Woodrow. Kamloops, BC: TRU Open Press. https://greatthinkers.pressbooks.tru.ca/chapter/plato-on-love/.
