Detailed Notes on Plato's Symposium

Aristophanes' account of the origin of love centers on the existence of three original genders: male, female, and androgynous. These early humans were spherical, with four arms, four legs, two faces, and reproductive organs. Males descended from the sun, females from the earth, and the androgynous from the moon, their forms reflecting their celestial origins. When these humans rebelled against the gods, Zeus weakened them by cutting them in half, and Apollo reshaped them. This separation led to the emergence of love and desire, where separated humans seek their other half to regain completeness. Therefore, love serves as the remedy for the human condition, healing the separation caused by Zeus. Aristophanes posits that the ultimate desire of lovers is to return to their original, unified state, transcending the individual to achieve a holistic existence.

Socrates, drawing from Diotima’s teachings, explains love as a spirit (daemon), an intermediary between gods and humans. Love is neither fully mortal nor immortal but exists in a state between wisdom and ignorance, beauty and ugliness. Diotima identifies Love as the offspring of Poros (Resourcefulness) and Penia (Poverty), thus explaining its paradoxical nature. Love is perpetually needy yet resourceful, constantly striving for what it lacks. Love's parentage explains its intermediate nature; it is a blend of deficiency and aspiration.

Love is intrinsically linked to beauty and immortality, according to Socrates/Diotima. Humans and animals express love through intercourse and nurturing, reflecting a mortal nature's quest for eternal life through offspring. Love seeks to give birth in beauty, whether in body or soul, driven by a desire for the good and immortality. Humans seek to perpetuate themselves through procreation and, more profoundly, through the creation of wisdom and virtue. The desire for honor is how people want to pass on their legacy. Pregnancy in Soul means morals desire to create wisdom and virtue, which a soul carries. People seek beauty to beget in, producing offspring that are not children in body; it is preferable to have offspring of souls rather than body.

The ascent or ladder of love, as described by Socrates/Diotima, is a philosophical journey. It starts with the love of individual beautiful bodies, progresses to recognizing the value of souls over bodies, and then moves to ideas and lessons. Ultimately, the journey culminates in the contemplation of the great sea of beauty and wisdom. The lover ascends from beautiful things to customs, learning, and finally, understanding Beauty itself, giving birth to true virtue and becoming immortal. Different types of beauty are valued at different stages of this ascent, with physical beauty serving as an initial spark that leads to the appreciation of moral and intellectual beauty. The Form of Beauty is the ultimate object of love, representing perfect, eternal, and unchanging beauty.

In the ideal case, love and wisdom are intertwined. The lover who doesn’t get "stuck" on the lower rungs of the ladder integrates love with intellectual and moral development. This individual seeks not just physical or superficial beauty but strives for wisdom and virtue, ultimately achieving a deeper understanding of the Form of Beauty. The conditional nature of love, as characterized in Socrates’/Diotima’s speech, implies that love is not merely a feeling but a directed, purposeful pursuit. Love is contingent on the lover’s ability to ascend the ladder, progressing from lower forms of beauty to higher, more profound ideals.

Alcibiades characterizes Socrates as a Silenus statue—ugly on the outside but divine within—and compares him to the satyr Marsyas, whose words move listeners. Alcibiades feels ashamed and questions his life’s direction because of Socrates’s impact. Socrates lacks interest in physical beauty, focusing instead on inner qualities. Alcibiades admits that his seduction attempts have failed and acknowledges Socrates’s honorable conduct in war. Alcibiades considers Socrates bizarre and unique. The relationship between Socrates and Alcibiades relates to the view of love expressed in Socrates’/Diotima’s speech because Alcibiades is drawn to Socrates's inner beauty and wisdom, even though he initially seeks a physical relationship. Socrates, however, directs Alcibiades towards a higher form of love, one based on virtue and intellectual growth. Their relationship exemplifies the struggle between physical attraction and the pursuit of true beauty and wisdom.