plato Flashcards
what were plato’s 4 big ideas
- think more- know yourself
- let your lover change you- make eachother better
- decide the message of beauty
- reform society
where was symposium set
a dinner party after Agathan just saw his play win.
it’s a conversation to celebrate Eros and love
what does Phaedrus say about love
love makes you better stronger braver especially in war.
love is the path to virtue
he talks about a pederastic relationship
what does Pausanias say about love
(Phaedrus’ lover)
first part of love is sexual love desire and passion (for both women and boys, he says women are the most unintelligent people imaginable)
second part is love which blossoms into friendship virtue and knowledge
he draws connection between uranian eros and pederasty
what does Eryximachus say
gives a scientific speech (he’s a doctor)
he says love is seen throughout nature and heaven and produces harmony
everything you do is governed by love
what does Aristophanes say
male female and androgynous orbs split in two forced to roam the earth looking for missing half
-deep feeling of contentment love creates
-a perfect person for everyone
-search to recover original nature
what does agathon say about love
brings speeches to an end and praises the virtues of love
says it’s young
what does socrates say about love
learned love from priestess Diotima
-neither ugly nor attractive. neither divine now mortal
-true love is beyond physical desire
-necessary for immortality through procreation
-the search for the beauty you lack
The pursuit of truth and philosophy
what does Alcibiades say about love
socrates is the embodiment of love
he says in socrates there is knowledge and virtue
(he describes socrates on the battle field sayinf it would inspire many athenians)
socrates refuses to have relations with him
how is socrates describes in Charmides vs Symposium
hot and bothered when glancing under the robe of a young boy vs able to resist Alcibiades
what does Pausanias say about voluntary slavery
the only acceptable voluntary slavery js that of a young boy giving sex to an older man in exchange for life lessons and knowledge
what does Aristophanes say about love vs desire and lifelong partnership
love better explains lifelong partnership than desire
sex is good for procreation and allows people to relax and focus on other things
how does plato describe friendship vs desire vs love
friendship- affection for someone who you have something in common
desire- sexual and physical
love- intense feeling of friendship. then divided up into two: love which allows desire and love that cannot
what does Plato’s ‘The Republic’ focus on
the nature of society and how individuals affect it
politics, government and justice
what is plato’s sex and food comparison
both are important for society. if you overindulge in food there could be a famine and creates greed which is not contributing to society but stealing from it.
what does plato say about irrational desire
we all experience irrational desire in dreams but control it when awake
what might plato have thought about sex
it was believed to be good for relaxing which could lead to laziness. he would be against laziness.
it would distract from the pursuit of truth and goodness (philosophy)
controlling desire creates balance and harmony which helps create a good society
what is the chariot allegory
chariot : your body
horses : emotions and desires
charioteer : your mind (logic
the horses drive the chariot but if you use your charioteer you keep control of the chariot and can follow the path
what does socrates/plato say about incest
it is incorrect desire. it is dangerous to the republic
what is going on between Alcibiades and socrates
socrates resists Alcibiades advances which makes him more desirable
Alci would usually be eromenos as he’s younger but is closer to erastes in pursuit of passion and sex not knowledge
why is Alcibiades presented the way he is
he led a disastrous sicilian expedition during the peloponnesian war. led by desire for fame etc, in Symposium he is equally led by desire as it was written after the war
what does goldhill say about homoerotic relationships
“to describe what greek love is - the desire of men for men, it’s institutions and practices - allows us to explore the more contentious issue of what ‘greek love’ means to us today “
is it helpful to look at plato when considering modern views on homosexuality?
- shows homophobia is not part of human nature but a social construct
-anyone can take any section of history to argue their point. you could use plato as for or against it’s not so straight forward
Who attempts to justify the sexual gratification that the erastes would receive
Eryximachus and Pausanias
what does Diotima think about same sex relationships
suggests it produces ideas and virtues and therefore is stronger than a relationship that merely produces children
what does plato say in Phaedrus vs Symposium that is contradicting
friendship should come first
vs
the importance of finding the right partner
how do Aristophanes plays present homosexual men
the ‘passive’ men were effeminate
could result in offender being deprived of citizen rights
how does plato talk about homosexual relationships in ‘laws’
unnatural, comes from failure to control desires
‘male unites with female for procreation, pleasure experienced is held to be due to nature but contrary to nature when male mates with male or female with female, those first guilty of such enormities were impelled by their slavery to pleasure’
what image does Thucydides paint about the peloponnesian war
makes it sound peaceful, a time of site seeing with no opposition or hard fighting.
shows desire and passion run wild - led them to trouble
when did plato open up his academy
387bc
why does plato draw conflicting conclusions
to allow people to read what they want into his work
what moral examples would greeks have from homer
- calypso and circes desire for odysseus
- odysseus and penelope, sex confirms their love (the gods extend night for them) but they also talk about thoughts and feelings
- the deaths of greeks and trojans blamed on achilles
- the destruction that followed helen and paris’ affair
