Ways of Seeing Mid Term

The Symposium

A philosophical dialogue written by Plato in which a group of members of the Greek Elite give speeches about the meaning of love.

Pausanius' speech

Distinguishes between common physical love and noble heavenly love based on object and pursuit.

Common and Heavenly Love

Physical attraction and lust versus attraction to the soul and helping others improve.

Eryximachus' speech

Love as a universal balancing force creating harmony, related to medicine and nature.

Aristophanes' speech

Love as the pursuit of wholeness or finding one's other half out of necessity.

Socrates' speech

Love as a desire for beauty and goodness, always 'of something' one lacks.

Alcibiades

Socrates' drunk lover who professes physical and spiritual desire for him.

The Ladder of Love

Diotima's stages from physical bodies to absolute beauty itself.

1) Physical love of beautiful body

2) Physical beauty in general

3) Appreciation for beautiful soul and morals

4) Beautiful souls in general

5) Appreciation for beautiful knowledge

6) Understanding beauty itself; absolute beauty

Jesus

Son of God who shows authority through parables, healing, forgiveness, and miracles.

Jesus' Baptism

Performed by John the Baptist, marking the start of Jesus' mission and relationship with God.

Forgiveness

Releasing someone from wrongdoing rather than defining them by sin.

Sinners

People considered bad whom Jesus associates with because they need help most.

Jesus and religious laws

Challenges Jewish law interpretation, prioritizing human well-being and doing right.

St. Augustine

Author of Confessions, detailing struggles with sin, lust, and conversion to Christianity.

Restlessness

The heart remains restless until it finds complete satisfaction in God.

Infants and sin

Selfish and jealous babies representing the innate sinful nature of humans.

Stolen Pears

Augustine's youthful act of giving into temptation for the mere gratification of wrongdoing.

Alypius

Augustine's close friend and companion who converts to Christianity alongside him.

Augustine's unnamed friend

Friend who dies after baptism, symbolizing the pain of making mortal relationships central.

Monica

Augustine's devout mother who prays persistently for his conversion.

Ambrose

Bishop of Milan who helps Augustine find Christianity through preaching and Scripture.

Augustine's lovers

Show his lust and treating people as objects rather than redirecting desire to God.

Manicheism and Faustus

Movement teaching light and darkness; Faustus leaves Augustine's questions unanswered.

Philosophy and Hortensius

Book inspiring Augustine to pursue philosophy and truth over worldly success.

Drunk beggar

Makes Augustine question whether ambition brings true happiness compared to a beggar's state.

Continence

Self-control and appropriate behavior in a sexual context, which Augustine struggles with.

Victorinus

Respected Roman teacher whose public conversion to Christianity inspires Augustine.

"Take up and read"

Child's voice heard by Augustine, prompting him to open Scripture and convert.

Charity

The supreme virtue of loving God above all things.

Mercy

Compassion toward another person's suffering and desire to relieve it.

Love of God and Neighbor

Interconnected ideas where loving God means willing the good of one's neighbor.

Almsdeeds

Giving material help to those in need as a concrete expression of charity.