Interpretations Of Love In Plato's The Symposium

Plato’s The Symposium examines the way at which love is viewed and interpreted. This is accomplished through testaments from guests at the symposium praising Eros, the god of love. Through the telling of these stories, Plato indicates that the numerous interpretations of love allow humans to take love in whatever way works best for them. He does this by exploiting the differences in opinions and approaches of each speaker at the symposium.

Eryximachus, a pompous and organized doctor and scientist uses the information he has gained within his medical practice in order to explain love and the existence of Eros. He argues that love can be seen in more than just humans, “Eros exists in the souls of men not only toward beautiful people, but also toward many other things and in other things-in the bodies of all animals, in what grows in the earth, and in general in all that is” (Plato The Symposium, 126). Eryximachus notes that

It also is the last speech of the night, making it more important because of the suspense leading up to it. While Socrates’ interpretation of love is the most overarching argument because it seems more relatable to each individual, it still can be interpreted differently. While we desire things that seem good, they aren’t necessarily good. We can be lead towards a false sense of good. People such as Eryximachus would prefer to be led by a love that can be seen in bodily reactions. That is the good that he sees. People such as Aristophanes would prefer to be guided by the idea that their other half is somewhere out there, having a concrete person that they are looking for and they will know once they have that person. That person they are looking for is the goodness that they are guided towards. Socrates’ widespread idea can still be taken in multiple different interpretations as it applies to each