Love: A Supernatural Being and Hero of Virtue - Essay Sample

Introduction

There are several characteristics of love described by Phaedrus concerning the nature of a person. In his various attributions, he first alludes to love as a supernatural being. He goes ahead to describe that love is wonderful to his birth and is a mighty God as considered by gods as well as men. Secondly, love is expressed as a hero that can conquer evil hence making the dishonourable become much more honourable (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff., 1997). Also, he expresses love to be a virtue giver apart from being a God.

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According to the speech given by Phaedrus, love can never be bad as he gives us the best goods. There is much more guidance for every person in love and love can cause many sacrifices from those in love, either for the boy in love or for a man who loves the boy. There is much more good that comes along at the time of shame in the name of love including giving oneself in place of a lover.

As much as the Phaedrus speech is regarded to entail much in terms of expressing love as supernatural, there is much detail left out in the expression. The theme of love has been narrowly addressed with much focus being on the little positivity that love can achieve.

Pausanius

The difference between the two types of love expressed by Pausanias depends on the context in which they are used since love is diverse. The common Aphrodite's young love ought to pounce at any time hence being anonymous. However, the heavenly Aphrodite love is older and purely male, hence the reason why it does not include the lewdness of youth.

According to the speech, there is the greater god of creating laws morally and legally to control those without self-governance from their seductive nature. Again, the laws created should protect the young boys from being extorted until the actual time when their thoughts are of the essence. Therefore, their vulnerable nature should be protected to avoid daughters and wives getting seduced.

As one loves a certain character for a lifetime, then it can be termed to be pure. Where love is driven by other elements such as wealth, there is a very small likelihood that it will survive over a current period. Hence, the goodness of love is determined by the drive behind it. For a young man to acquire honor, one should portray their actual intention for love, and in exchange, they should get the assurance of patience and time to work on their virtues.

Eryximachus

According to the speech by Eryximachus, medicine is a helper in the determinacy of foul and fair love. Since love occurs everywhere within the universe, there is a need to balance the opposites in terms of the effects. The two opposites: health and diseases can be inflicted through love and when physicians there is the need to understand that love should be able to create harmony within a human body. Through the body elements, love should be ridding discordant elements (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff., 1997). Therefore, the love that is felt by good people, as well as those that might be improved, should be encouraged.

As an expert in medicine, one should be able to differentiate between fair and foul love hence being able to create harmony within the human elements. However, it is not the same definition of an expert lover. The instinct of balancing love that occurs between opposites is the significant component of being a true lover according to the speech; hence, not much training is required to be undertaken.

Aristophanes

The speech explains the change that overcame human nature as a result of a punishment given to the human race. Through a separation of genitals into halves and issuing different genitalia to each half, a third force was created. The eternal spell that appropriated a multiplication of numbers hence led to the creation of love. Through the action of humans, there is a constant desire for love among people.

There is a sexual desire that is present within every person that requires them to seek another person in need for sexual satisfaction. Aristophanes relates to the theme of love that surrounds human relationships hence stirring the constant need of having satisfaction. The constant force which is the fate of humans hence narrows down other relative articulations to the same topic.

Sex, according to Aristophanes, is the act of healing the human nature of the wound inflicted on its course. Hence, there is a balance of two opposites created as a result of sex and is constant. The explanation differs from the previous three poems in terms of a spiritual reference. However, the opposite side balance created by the explanation of Aristophanes rings a similar concept to the previous theories.

Socrates and Agathon

A) As Agathon responds to the question, love is a love of something. The force created in a human relationship causes dependency between one another; hence the constant need for another purpose for satisfaction. Therefore, love is articulated to something g, thus explaining its essence.

B) Similarly, another response to its nature is love as being desiring to its alike nature (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff., 1997). The explanation therefore suggests love to be a desire a disqualification of being a god. However, every person is subjective to it due to its desirable nature.

C) Since love is for the good and beautiful, it is clear that it doesn't qualify to be a god. Since god is beautiful and happy love tends to need beauty and good things, an opposing need.

Diotima finds love not to be a god due to the opposing natures presented between god and love. Whereas purity is key in terms of godliness, love seeks to find beautiful and good things hence placing a bias.

Diotima

Through the philosophy of love, there is a constant drive for love within every person that renders one subjected to earthly beauty. According to philosophy, spiritual beauty is attained as the lover grows into wisdom.

Every person emerges with a desire to give birth to love in the form of the soul as well as the body. Through the definition, the explanation given by Diotima implies the eternal need to feel good forever. Hence, there is the possibility to give birth spiritually through healing the universal wound created.

There are several stages as highlighted by the ladder presented by Diotima which defines a relative escalation of the feelings. At the top rank is the explanation of the clean nature which enables a relative sharing between humans thus labeling it eternal.

References

Nehamas, A., & Woodruff, P., and trans. 1997.". In Symposium." Plato: Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper, Assoc. ed. DS Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett (pp. 458-505).