Philosophies of Love: Platos Ideal of Love - Essay Example

Philosophies of Love: Plato’s Ideal of Love Since the philosophers of the time were often concerned with the functions of things, a part of Plato’s work is dedicated to the function and purposes of love and how it affects human beings as well as animals. In this regard, the ideas of Platonic love, sexual desire and the love connection between two individuals has been discussed in detail by Plato and to fully understand these things a comparison between Plato and modern understandings of these philosophies is made in this paper. At the same time, this paper also covers Plato’s inspired ideas about how honorable and heavenly love functions in, “Giving birth in beauty both in body and mind (Plato 43)”. The topics of love, Eros and friendship have been extensively covered in the Symposium and although the work functions as a dialogue between different individuals, there are certain themes which come out prominently in relation to love. For instance, the idea of dying for someone you love or the idea of love overcoming great odds including death. Examples of these were given by Phaedrus who considers love to be one of the higher goods a person can be involved with since it moves people to do great things and take up great sacrifices which are noble causes (Plato 19). Further on, Pausanias describes love as having two different forms, i.e. heavenly love and common love which is certainly reflective of the idea of the existence of perfect forms. This is because Pausanias says that love in and of itself is neither good nor bad but it is the performance of love which can be commonly or heavenly (Plato 24). Common love is imperfect and is seen very commonly around us since it is felt by those who are attached to boys and women in the same way. It is a love based on the physical attributes of the beloved and not a spiritual form of love. The act of sex in this case is not an act of union but rather an act based on lust and baser desires (Plato 35). In contrast to other eras in Western philosophies where love between individuals of the same sex was seen as unnatural and even accepted as a medical problem, Plato’s Symposium suggests quite clearly that forming bonds of love between older/wiser men and younger men is quite heavenly but only with certain qualifications. This bond is different from homosexual love between two men as it is understood today. In the Symposium, Plato focuses on what we call Platonic love that is understood today to be an affection based relationship between any two individuals without the sexual tones which might be present in normal situations. In the simplest of terms this love is a deeper kind of friendship which comes from close association and a heavenly bond which is created as a function of camaraderie between individuals (Plato 40). Honorable love between an older man and a younger man is based on the ideals of chastity and self restraint which makes it a purely platonic relationship. This is the only honorable relationship between a man and another man as a bong of love where a person has the desire to be virtuous or to become a better philosopher by learning and engaging in debate. If there is deception involved in this process by the older partner, the younger partner loses no honor since he only sought virtue and not pleasure (Plato 20). As per the quote given in the question, Platonic love explains the function of love as it gives birth to beauty in the mind. Since both lovers are seeking to improve their quality of virtue and to improve their learning. While Athenian society certainly accepted this aspect of love it seems that the modern world is more focused on respect and admiration which comes between teachers and students who have close contact and seek to increase their knowledge as well as understanding of the world around them. The second function of love is explained by Diotima as a function of how human beings desire to give birth. As all individuals are pregnant both in the physical and mental forms the desire to give birth peaks with adulthood. To fulfill this desire, birth is given only in what is beautiful therefore the love and sexual intercourse between a man and a woman is a divine act which leads to the birth of another person. Additionally, this also fulfills another aspect of the human desire which is a need for continuity and the desire for immortality (Plato 42). The desire for immortality and the need for continuity can be linked to the ideas given by the subject of Darwinian destiny i.e. to propagate the genetic code a person is given. As human beings and other living things seek out to pass on their genetic code and continue living in the shape of their offspring, the idea of beauty in body as defined by Diotima is certainly applicable to the ideas presented in evolutionary theory (Horvitz & Alan 157) since locating a mate is one of the main activities of animals existing in nature. Thus, love has the function of giving immortality to the lovers since their union and their sexual connection leads to the birth of another creature that carries on their life. The extension of this idea applies not only to humans but also to animals who may not be able to appreciate the higher virtues of love as they apply to the mental state of being in love but the physical state as well where love makes them seek out other partners to the extent that they behave unnaturally as compared to their other states (Plato 45). Plato does not consider the physical act of love to be limited to humans alone because as explained by Diotima all animals (birds and bees included) desire to have sex with their mates and then rear what is brought into the world by their act of passion. The desire to protect what they have brought into the world is so strong that they are ready to fight even the strongest of foes and are willing to go hungry in order to provide food for their offspring. While humans might be able to understand the reasons for their actions of protecting their young and providing for them as a method of seeking out immortality, animals certainly can not understand the philosophical reasons behind it (Plato 45). However, as suggested by Plato, an understanding of the philosophical reasons behind the physical act of love or knowing the objective of immortality in seeking children is not required for love to take place between individuals or animals. In fact, love is an aspect of nature since nature seeks to continue itself and prolong its existence in any way it can (Plato 45). Animals do not have to know or understand the reasons behind love since it is natural to believe that having children is the only way to continue on in some form forever. An immortal body is virtuous, death does not come to those who are perfect like gods and since human beings can only have immortality by the continuation of their lines, the physical act of love is as essential as the mental connection made between two individuals (Plato 43). Even though the mental act is perhaps more virtuous, without the physical union of a man and a woman the function of love can not be said to exist as giving birth in beauty for both the mind and body. In conclusion, it seems that the ideals and understanding of love as maintained by Plato and by the actors in the Symposium is not very different from the philosophical or even the popular ideas about love as we experience it in today’s world. Even now, the physical act of love is seen as a baser part of greater love which has been glorified by classical writers, romance era poets and Victorian writers. However, just like animals experience and need to participate in sex to continue their lines, humans too have to participate in sexual activities with members of the opposite sex in order to become immortal in a way. Of course it also leads to the question of how humans can reproduce without falling in love. For instance, in the present day and age, a woman only needs to get a sperm donation to have children and does not need a partner or a lover to have a child. On the other hand, a man can use a surrogate mother with donated eggs to have his children. While such things are not common enough to become a part of mainstream philosophy, I do wonder what Plato would have said about achieving immortality without being in love. Word Count: 1,502 Works Cited Plato (1999). The Symposium. Gill translation. Horvitz, L. A. & Alan, L. The Complete Idiots Guide to Evolution. Alpha Books. Read More