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Is The Difference Between Aristophanes Phaedrus And Aristophanes

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Agathon hosted a gathering for a small group of philosophers to talk about how they perceive love and what their own unique ideas are of beauty, virtue, honor, or anything else that may fall under the category of love. Eros, or Love, is a god that the philosophers have decided to praise with a speech of their own perspective. You get to see each philosophers different style and way of thinking within their speeches. All philosophers have agreed to drink while each other is speaking, but there is no pressure from one another or one’s self to drink excessively. The first to kick off the speeches is Phaedrus, an idealist, who believes that being shamed upon who you love most is of the highest caliber of embarrassment, even compared to relatives …show more content…

Eryximachus, the doctor, refers to love in the sense of being healthy and sick, and how like search for like. Usually people may try to find someone with similar characteristics to be their lover or beloved. Aristophanes who was originally supposed to go before Eryximachus used a sneeze technique that he told him to use to get rid of his hiccups, and Aristophanes pleads to Eryximachus specifically, to not view his speech as comical. Aristophanes talks about how Zeus split humans in half in hopes to weaken them, who originally had four arms, four legs, and two heads. He refers to love in a sense of finding your other half, in order to make yourself whole again. Agathon, the host, tries to convince the others that if they follow his ways of teaching then they will achieve happiness. Socrates, the big shot in the room, questions others and speaks of Diotima who has taught him what she believes to be true love. Alcibiades is the last to speak and comes in at the end already drunk and speaks the truth about Socrates. All speakers have done a great job of building off one another, disagreeing with, and challenging one another’s …show more content…

“A wrong relationship is one which involves the immoral gratification of a bad man, and a good relationship is one which involves the morally sound gratification of a good man (Waterfield 17).” The desire of a bad man is one who leads primarily for physical features, and in the end leaving who he may be with on to something new, thus having a temporary relationship or feeling with a companion. “Psyche which will never lose its charm, more than for the body, which must inevitably do so (Plato’s Symposium, Rosen 85).” I believe this particular statement to be true when searching for love because through time, your body has the possibility of becoming weak, while on the other hand it may be easier to keep your mind healthy and fresh. The mind can have memories and abilities that you have had as a child all the way up to when you become elderly. The mind can remain youthful, while the body has no choice but to age. The common lover looks for people based on how attractive they are, or if they may be wealthy or powerful in some way. The good side of love would put the beauty of the mind first before the body, since it can remain youthful in some sense. Those who put the love of the body first may just keep moving on to the next one, and may not find that special person to be fully happy and settle down with, although they may see beauty in the body, they may not see beauty in the mind which is not clear to

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