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traveltounravel's review against another edition
"According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.”
“Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.”
“Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.”
“Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.”
“Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.”
daniel_wood's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
marijesu's review against another edition
5.0
Great great great book to read. Especially as someone experimenting and diving into philosophy. Gives you an incredible amount of perspectives on the idea of Love and what can be. It's a great intro to philosophy book, however it can get a bit confusing as the writing style is old-timey. But nonetheless very insightful!
nzagalo's review against another edition
5.0
O texto em que se define o amor platónico. É um bom texto para se ler na adolescência, mas não fosse o seu posicionamento histórico a sua relevância já se teria esfumado.
deea_bks's review against another edition
5.0
About 5 years ago, I began meditating daily. At the time, I was struggling with anxiety and depression, and I was quite desperate to find solutions that would have no side effects. Little did I know back then that meditation would not only cure me but also offer so much more. What they say in the East is no exaggeration—meditation truly does expand one's consciousness—and I can’t even begin to explain how.
Over time, you reach a point where you begin to understand how everything in the world is interconnected. You realize that science has an incomplete view of reality, that myths (the Greek ones are delightfully clever) and philosophy convey deeper truths through metaphor, and how the subconscious mind functions. You gain insight into why we are here on Earth, how everything—art, music, mathematics, you name it—is intricately linked, and how we humans are all connected. You also understand why so many “bad” things are happening in the world, and even what death truly means.
You begin to find answers to questions you had, and even to those you didn’t know you had. Clues are everywhere, but one must eliminate quite a few veils first to see them and train the mind to interpret them. Meditation is one way to do this, though there are several others. The process is very much like learning a new language—once you master it, you begin to understand what everything around you is trying to convey to you.
I have noticed that Goodreads mentions that The Symposium is a “discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts”. That’s an oversimplification. The Symposium actually talks about the spiritual journey and lists in great detail all the stages one goes through on his way to “wisdom”. "The Beloved," and "Beauty" are metaphors for the source of all creation. "The Lover" symbolizes the spiritual seeker.
Socrates, in his speech—which might not seem entirely coherent at a first glance - brilliantly explains the dual nature of humans and our connection to the source. He uses the term “Love” to talk both about the creator and humanity, tapping into the Christian metaphor that "we are all made in God's image"—which, of course is not to be taken literally but symbolically, referring to consciousness, not the physical appearance.
Diodima, Socrates' teacher, explains that the philosopher is a spiritual seeker who has awakened or reached enlightenment (to use Buddhist terminology)—what Plato means by wisdom. Diodima’s speech on humanity's quest for immortality is brilliantly profound. Then again, every single paragraph of this dialogue shines if you understand the metaphors and grasp what Plato is actually trying to convey.
Nothing is random in this masterpiece, and nothing is what it seems. Everything is a metaphor for something else – even Aristophanes' hickup and the drinking stand for something else (the latter is an equivalent for drinking from the river Lethe in the Underworld to forget or drinking from Mnemosyne to remember, in Socrates' case, who no matter how much he drinks does not get "drunk").
Diodima also explains that once you set off on this quest for wisdom (the spiritual quest), consciousness expands, but only gradually (in steps) allowing one to acclimatize to the changes and not be overwhelmed by the differences from the view of the world they started from (which describes my own experience really well):
What Plato does is insert the explanation for what he has been doing all along (he told the truth using parallels) in Alcibiades’ speech to hide it from his non-enlightened contemporaries who would have lynched him for this.
At some point, a crowd of revellers invades the room, taking their places among the diners. They wreak havoc and they are forced to drink (they're sent back to Earth to get a new chance to learn what "Love" means through new incarnations), while all the other guests were free to drink but chose not to (so they had been liberated - they have a deep understanding of „Love”).
Some of the guests leave. Socrates who by the end of the dialogue stands for the creator attempts to explain to the remaining ones (Agathon, Aristophanes and Aristodemos - the ones who tell the story further; the first two in their plays when hit by the muse - which stands for Divine inspiration, the latter as a "wise" man who shares the story further) that on a cosmic level, what we perceive as tragedy is comedy at the same time. This means that the creator does not think in dualities such as tragedy and comedy, good and bad—these are merely human constructs because our minds have not yet (fully) expanded and don't have the capacity to see the bigger picture. They become drowsy and fall asleep, which means humanity does not really get the message from their stories.
The title is carefully chosen. The banquet is what happens after death in the Underworld (a concept different from the Christian Hell - which is in fact the equivalent of the Hindu Maya, or illusion) - a kind of reckoning. There, the guests that have been "invited" "consider how to manage their drinking most conveniently" and choose not to drink (because they have a deep understanding of what "Love" really means), while the revellers who barge in "uninvited" are forced to drink and are sent away.
Over time, you reach a point where you begin to understand how everything in the world is interconnected. You realize that science has an incomplete view of reality, that myths (the Greek ones are delightfully clever) and philosophy convey deeper truths through metaphor, and how the subconscious mind functions. You gain insight into why we are here on Earth, how everything—art, music, mathematics, you name it—is intricately linked, and how we humans are all connected. You also understand why so many “bad” things are happening in the world, and even what death truly means.
You begin to find answers to questions you had, and even to those you didn’t know you had. Clues are everywhere, but one must eliminate quite a few veils first to see them and train the mind to interpret them. Meditation is one way to do this, though there are several others. The process is very much like learning a new language—once you master it, you begin to understand what everything around you is trying to convey to you.
I have noticed that Goodreads mentions that The Symposium is a “discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts”. That’s an oversimplification. The Symposium actually talks about the spiritual journey and lists in great detail all the stages one goes through on his way to “wisdom”. "The Beloved," and "Beauty" are metaphors for the source of all creation. "The Lover" symbolizes the spiritual seeker.
Socrates, in his speech—which might not seem entirely coherent at a first glance - brilliantly explains the dual nature of humans and our connection to the source. He uses the term “Love” to talk both about the creator and humanity, tapping into the Christian metaphor that "we are all made in God's image"—which, of course is not to be taken literally but symbolically, referring to consciousness, not the physical appearance.
Diodima, Socrates' teacher, explains that the philosopher is a spiritual seeker who has awakened or reached enlightenment (to use Buddhist terminology)—what Plato means by wisdom. Diodima’s speech on humanity's quest for immortality is brilliantly profound. Then again, every single paragraph of this dialogue shines if you understand the metaphors and grasp what Plato is actually trying to convey.
Nothing is random in this masterpiece, and nothing is what it seems. Everything is a metaphor for something else – even Aristophanes' hickup and the drinking stand for something else (the latter is an equivalent for drinking from the river Lethe in the Underworld to forget or drinking from Mnemosyne to remember, in Socrates' case, who no matter how much he drinks does not get "drunk").
Diodima also explains that once you set off on this quest for wisdom (the spiritual quest), consciousness expands, but only gradually (in steps) allowing one to acclimatize to the changes and not be overwhelmed by the differences from the view of the world they started from (which describes my own experience really well):
For let me tell you, the right way to approach the things of love, or to be led there by another, is this: beginning from these beautiful things, to mount for that beauty’s sake ever upwards, as by a flight of steps, from one to two, and from two to all beautiful bodies, and from beautiful bodies to beautiful pursuits and practices, and from practices to beautiful learnings, so that from learnings he may come at last to that perfect learning which is the learning solely of that beauty itself, and may know at last that which is the perfection of beauty.Plato’s tone is flippant. This dialogue seems to be a parody and he seems to be making fun of the readers (especially when he is talking about loving “young boys”). That is not really so. Plato was wise and he knew that by saying what he meant point-blank he would have put himself at risk in those times (isn’t this why Socrates was condemned to death in real life in fact – for affirming things that contradicted the status-quo?).
What Plato does is insert the explanation for what he has been doing all along (he told the truth using parallels) in Alcibiades’ speech to hide it from his non-enlightened contemporaries who would have lynched him for this.
I am to speak in praise of Socrates, gentlemen and I will just try to do it by means of similes. Oh yes, he will think perhaps it is only for a bit of fun, but my simile will be for truth, not for fun.Alcibiades is drunk and he seems to do nothing of the sort… so who would pay attention to his foolish words, right? Except, they are not foolish—they’re quite wise and if you try to read between his slanderous remarks about Socrates, you understand that he actually has a deep admiration for him and praises him, his actions and the effect of his actions over time. Surprisingly, it turns out he is not drunk at all and he has only been playing the fool all along.
At some point, a crowd of revellers invades the room, taking their places among the diners. They wreak havoc and they are forced to drink (they're sent back to Earth to get a new chance to learn what "Love" means through new incarnations), while all the other guests were free to drink but chose not to (so they had been liberated - they have a deep understanding of „Love”).
Some of the guests leave. Socrates who by the end of the dialogue stands for the creator attempts to explain to the remaining ones (Agathon, Aristophanes and Aristodemos - the ones who tell the story further; the first two in their plays when hit by the muse - which stands for Divine inspiration, the latter as a "wise" man who shares the story further) that on a cosmic level, what we perceive as tragedy is comedy at the same time. This means that the creator does not think in dualities such as tragedy and comedy, good and bad—these are merely human constructs because our minds have not yet (fully) expanded and don't have the capacity to see the bigger picture. They become drowsy and fall asleep, which means humanity does not really get the message from their stories.
The title is carefully chosen. The banquet is what happens after death in the Underworld (a concept different from the Christian Hell - which is in fact the equivalent of the Hindu Maya, or illusion) - a kind of reckoning. There, the guests that have been "invited" "consider how to manage their drinking most conveniently" and choose not to drink (because they have a deep understanding of what "Love" really means), while the revellers who barge in "uninvited" are forced to drink and are sent away.