Good Example Of Essay On The Symposium

Plato devotes an entire text to analyze love through Socrates speech. Plato was Socrates student. He was initially a political student before turning philosophical after his master and teacher was tried and sentenced to death after being accused of corrupting the minds of young Athenians. Plato believed that the true aspects of love could lead to proper governance and that the people would live with honor and pursues excellence rather than wealth. Since love revolves all aspects of life including governance, and life being a philosophy in its own sense, it is only wise that he treats love as a philosophical subject.
/> Aristophanes describes the nature of man as that seeking love in another half of him or herself. According to Aristophanes, man existed in three forms, the sun which was the male, the earth which was the female and the moon which possessed both the male and the female attributes. It is the latter that possessed the most complete attributes of a human. Being strong as the giants that preceded them, these humans plotted to overthrow the gods. In retaliation, the gods split them into halves to weaken and multiply them. The nature of human beings has been since then to seek for the better half motivated by love. This is why two individuals of the same sex may seek to be entangled forever based purely on love rather than sexual attraction. This myth clearly shows that human beings are attracted to one another due to love rather than any other aspects.
According to Diotima, love is the love of something that is lacking. Love is not absolute as it emanates where there is lack of a given phenomenon. The desire to live forever is what drives love among human beings rather love being a power in itself. Love is, therefore a driving force that may lack or be in abundance depending on an individual’s desire.