Plato's Symposium is not only a speech on the theme of love, it is a tribute to Socrates and his way of life, and the entire course of the discussion is guided by the ultimate goal of presenting Socrates as the representation of love itself. Although this happens slowly and indirectly through a series of steps, Plato eventually clearly expresses his admiration for Socrates' way of life. This can then be compared not only to Socrates' method of convincing others that his view of love is correct, but also to the process of love's ascension. All speeches play a determining role in the presentation of Socrates: the first, although superficial and trivial in their content, are important for the process of which they are part; Diotima's speech is important because it establishes the basis for Socrates' depiction of love; and finally Alcibiades' speech completes the comparison. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The text begins with a series of speeches primarily about the benefits of love, but quickly moves into a discussion of what exactly love is. All the speakers take turns expressing their thoughts on love, and each strives to do so in a way that is flattering to themselves and their lifestyle. Drawing on his beliefs and personal experiences, each man, from the actor to the politician, expresses his opinion. Their views on love vary as much as their lifestyles and, as a result, there is disagreement as to the exact definition of love. As each man speaks, he refutes certain parts of the previous speaker's argument and builds on certain other parts; the concept of love becomes more and more broad and abstract. The dissent between the men, however, allows the reader both to see the progression and evolution of the meaning of love and to see the connection between this process and the process of love itself. According to Diotima, the process of love is necessarily slow and careful, so discovering the meaning of love must also allow for careful examination and refutation of the erroneous beliefs of openness speakers. Plato uses the different speakers not only to present contrasting points of view, but also to create a process by which these men seek knowledge. This process parallels Diotima's description of love as a process: a continuing search for beauty and wisdom and an ascension of the soul. His conception of love contrasts sharply with that of everyone else. She describes it primarily as a desire to possess good things eternally. This desire necessitates the concomitant desire for immortality. When asked what love wants, Diotima replies: “Reproduction and birth in beauty” (206E, 53). She goes on to say: "...Reproduction continues eternally; this is what mortals have in place of immortality. A lover must desire immortality along with the good, if what we agreed earlier was just, that Love wants to possess the good forever. It follows that Love must desire immortality” (206E-207A, 54). – this is obvious. For humans, immortality can only be achieved through reproduction. There is, however, both physical and mental reproduction, and one can be pregnant both physically and mentally. only thanks to his children, but also and above all thanks to lasting ideas Here, Diotima relies on Pausanias' idea of ​​"celestial" and "common" love.attributing physical offspring to “common” love and intellectual or spiritual offspring to “celestial” love. Socrates' rejection of Alcibiades' offer is directly related to this principle. As a representation of higher heavenly love, Socrates seeks to reproduce it through ideas and rejects the physical aspects of common love. What Alcibiades actually asks for is his lower love for Socrates' higher love: "gold in exchange for bronze" (219A, 70). Socrates, however, sees the inequality of such an exchange in saying: “You [Alcibiades] can see in me a beauty that is beyond description and that makes your own remarkable beauty pale in comparison. But is it then a fair exchange...?" (218E, 70). Alcibiades, however, demonstrates a love for Socrates that is of a higher level than the simple physical love, which is what he has. -even to offer. Alcibiades loves Socrates not only for his wisdom, but also because he believes that Socrates can make him a better person through the reproduction of his beautiful ideas so Alcibiades not only seeks wisdom, but also, more importantly, immortality if Socrates accepted Alcibiades' offer however, he would not live up to the image of heavenly love. This then requires him to reject Alcibiades' offer for. seduce Socrates, but it is his expression of love - his attempt to achieve immortality However, to achieve this immortality, one must achieve the highest level of love Diotima describes the process of achieving this level in. saying: We always climb upwards for the love of this Beauty, starting from beautiful things and using them like climbing stairs: with one body. two and two to all beautiful bodies, then from beautiful bodies to beautiful customs, and from customs to the learning of beautiful things, and from these lessons he finally arrives at this lesson, which is the learning of this same Beauty , so that in the end he will know exactly what it means to be beautiful... When he looks at Beauty the only way Beauty can be seen? only then will it become possible for him to give birth not to images of virtue (because he is in contact with any image), but to true virtue (because he is in contact with true Beauty). The love of the gods belongs to anyone who gave birth to true virtue and nurtured it, and if any human being could be immortal, it would be him.--Symposium, 211C-212B, 59-60Because the ultimate goal of love is immortality, Diotima describes it as a process by which the appreciation and desire for beauty rises from the simple physical to the intellectual and finally to the mystical. However, only by reaching the final level of love can one become immortal, and this level can only be reached if one moves away from the basic love of the physical to a love sharing or reproducing ideas. This is exactly what Alcibiades attempts to do by pursuing Socrates. Before that, one cannot experience the essence of beauty, but only see images of it. Only after experiencing true beauty, a beauty that cannot be seen with the eyes, can other true beauty be reproduced. It is therefore immortality. Because love desires good things like immortality, beauty, and wisdom, and because people do not desire what they already have, Diotima reasons that love is none of these things. This once again connects love to the lover and Socrates, rather than to the beloved, as previous speakers had done. In the arguments presented by Phaedrus, Pausanias, and Eryximachus, love was entirely good and beautiful; it was representative of the beloved. Diotima, however, asserts that love is neither beautiful, nor wise, nor immortal. Love, in all its aspects, is rather between the two ends of the..