1. LOVE Symposium by Plato

2. Symposium

3. A Greek discussion or debate

4. Symposium A Greek discussion or debate However, its actually quite casual

5. Symposium A Greek discussion or debate However, its actually quite casual ….and fun

6. Symposium A Greek discussion or debate However, its actually quite casual ….and fun This is how ancient Greeks liked to party

7. Symposium A Greek discussion or debate However, its actually quite casual ….and fun This is how ancient Greeks liked to party ….and they did a lot of drinking

8. Agathon

9. A lot of Greek men

10. A lot of drink

11. A lot of Greek men A lot of drink What is the natural topic of conversation?

12. A lot of Greek men A lot of drink What is the natural topic of conversation? LOVE

13. Aristophanes

14. He was an ancient ‘comedian’

15. Aristophanes He was an ancient ‘comedian’ He described there being three sexes:

16. Aristophanes He was an ancient ‘comedian’ He described there being three sexes: male,

17. Aristophanes He was an ancient ‘comedian’ He described there being three sexes: male, female,

18. Aristophanes He was an ancient ‘comedian’ He described there being three sexes: male, female, and an androgenous combination of the two.

19. Aristophanes He was an ancient ‘comedian’ He described there being three sexes: male, female, and an androgenous combination of the two. He said Zeus split up the androgenous sex with a bolt of lightning.

20. Aristophanes So Aristophanes describes love as the desire for a person to find their other half

21. Aristophanes So Aristophanes describes love as the desire for a person to find their other half To become ‘whole’.

22. Phaedrus

23. Love is:

24. Phaedrus Love is: Great and wonderful

25. Phaedrus Love is: Great and wonderful Supreme benefactor of mankind

26. Phaedrus Love is: Great and wonderful Supreme benefactor of mankind Great sense of humour

27. Pausanias

28. Love is: Not singular but dual

29. Pausanias Love is: Not singular but dual Common love – when you have common interests

30. Pausanias Love is: Not singular but dual Common love – when you have common interests Heavenly love – felt by boys during maturation looking for life partnership

31. Pausanias Love is: Heavenly love can be BAD

32. Pausanias Love is: Heavenly love can be BAD (if it leads to sexual desire)

33. Pausanias Love is: Heavenly love can be BAD (if it leads to sexual desire) But, appropriate love is when one person educates another and makes them wise and good.

34. Pausanias Love is: Heavenly love can be BAD (if it leads to sexual desire) But, appropriate love is when one person educates another and makes them wise and good (which may mean trying really hard)

35. Eryximachus (He’s a doctor so his ‘way of knowing’ is through anything to do with medicine)

36. Eryximachus (He’s a doctor so his ‘way of knowing’ is through anything to do with medicine) He agrees with Pausanias that love can be good or bad.

37. Eryximachus (He’s a doctor so his ‘way of knowing’ is through anything to do with medicine) He agrees with Pausanias that love can be good or bad. Like medicine, he believes love is about enhancing the good and depriving the bad.

38. Eryximachus Common love is good but we must not indulge in it too much in case we get sick.

39. Eryximachus Common love is good but we must not indulge in it too much in case we get sick. Therefore, love is good in moderation.

40. Eryximachus Common love is good but we must not indulge in it too much in case we get sick. Therefore, love is good in moderation. Love is the cause of all self-control, happiness and justice.

41. Agathon

42. He comments that all that has been talked about so far is what humans can gain from love.

43. Agathon He comments that all that has been talked about so far is what humans can gain from love (a very shallow and selfish way to look at it).

44. Agathon He comments that all that has been talked about so far is what humans can gain from love (a very shallow and selfish way to look at it). So he suggests that they talk about Love as a God.

45. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods

46. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful.

47. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful. Love is:

48. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful. Love is: Sensitive,

49. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful. Love is: Sensitive, never forceful,

50. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful. Love is: Sensitive, never forceful, brave,

51. Agathon Love is young and rules over the other Gods, and therefore is peaceful. Love is: Sensitive, never forceful, brave, He says Love is always moderate because he controls pleasures and desires.

52. Agathon He also says no other God can master their respective expertise without Love.

53. Agathon He also says no other God can master their respective expertise without Love. Love is responsible for: beauty, excellence, wisdom, goodness, etc etc

54. Agathon Agathon is careless and vague about his description, yet everyone applauds and comments on how well spoken and brilliant he is.

55. Socrates

56. In true Socrates style, he is very humbles and suggests he cannot add anything of worth given that they all spoke so well.

57. Socrates In true Socrates style, he is very humbles and suggests he cannot add anything of worth given that they all spoke so well. So he decides to tell a story of when he met a woman called Diatoma (an oracle).

58. Socrates He quickly points of that while the previous speeches were well spoken, they might only impress the ignorant.

59. Socrates He quickly points of that while the previous speeches were well spoken, they might only impress the ignorant. I.e. None of them have come close to describing the TRUTH

60. Socrates Socrates begins questioning.

61. Socrates Socrates begins questioning. Things like: Is Love a love of something?

62. Socrates Socrates begins questioning. Things like: Is Love a love of something? Agathon agrees.

63. Socrates He then gets Agathon to agree that Love must desire that which it has a love of.

64. Socrates He then gets Agathon to agree that Love must desire that which it has a love of. He then points out that you can only desire something you don’t have in their possession.

65. Socrates He then gets Agathon to agree that Love must desire that which it has a love of. He then points out that you can only desire something you don’t have in their possession.

66. Socrates He goes back to Agathon’s argument in which he said Love is ‘beautiful’ and ‘good’.

67. Socrates He goes back to Agathon’s argument in which he said Love is ‘beautiful’ and ‘good’. Which therefore means Love cannot be beautiful or good, since it desires it.

68. Socrates He goes back to Agathon’s argument in which he said Love is ‘beautiful’ and ‘good’. Which therefore means Love cannot be beautiful or good, since it desires it. Agathon agrees he was wrong.

69. Symposium

70. A major theme of Symposium is that you can only know the TRUTH of something if you can truly define it.

71. Symposium A major theme is also that when you love something, you can love the knowledge of it,

72. Symposium A major theme is also that when you love something, you can love the knowledge of it, i.e. in this case you don’t have to love a specific beautiful object, but you can go beyond that and learn to love the idea of beauty.

73. Symposium Another idea about Symposium is that knowledge is like love,

74. Symposium Another idea about Symposium is that knowledge is like love, and Socrates’ definition of love describes his own relationship with knowledge.

75. Symposium Another idea about Symposium is that knowledge is like love, and Socrates’ definition of love describes his own relationship with knowledge. It is something that you desire because don’t have it.

76. Symposium Another idea about Symposium is that knowledge is like love, and Socrates’ definition of love describes his own relationship with knowledge. It is something that you desire because don’t have it.

77. Symposium This means: If you think you have it, you really don’t. The pursuit of knowledge is a life long pursuit.

78. Symposium This means: If you think you have it, you really don’t.