Publications List:
THEATER OF THE MIND |
Plato's Symposium
Plato's Symposium
The dramatic nature of Plato's dialogues is delightfully evident in the Symposium. The marriage between character and thought bursts forth as the guests gather at Agathon's house to celebrate the success of his first tragedy. With wit and insight, they each present their ideas about love — from Erixymachus's scientific naturalism to Aristophanes' comic fantasy. The unexpected arrival of Alcibiades breaks the spell cast by Diotima's ethereal climb up the staircase of love to beauty itself. Ecstasy and intoxication clash as Plato concludes with one of his most skillful displays of dialectic.
Audio Samples:
Quote:
"Now consider the story about lovers seeking their other half. I would say that they seek neither a half nor a whole unless it is also good. In fact, people will cut off their own hands and feet if they think they are diseased. They do not love things because they are their own but because they are good, just as they dislike things not because they belong to someone else but because they are bad — what they really love is the good."