The Significance of Alcibiades' Speech in Plato's Symposium

Authors

  • Rolf M. Johnson

Abstract

Critics of Plato's theory of love have maintained that he misrepresents the love of persons, treating them merely as a means to the love of the Good or as an image of the Idea in them, rather than the person herself. Other critics claim that Plato sees love as a purely acquisitive and egocentric desire that is fundamentally at odds with an ethical love such as Biblical agape. I will argue that the second of these criticisms is just wrong, and the first, overstated. Regarding the egocentric thesis, I will attempt to show that Plato views love not merely as a desire to possess, but also as a generative urge to create. Special attention will be given to the speech of Alcibiades in addressing both of these charges.

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Published

02/08/2018

How to Cite

Johnson, R. M. (2018). The Significance of Alcibiades’ Speech in Plato’s Symposium. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 34(2), 30–35. Retrieved from https://journal.viterbo.edu/index.php/atpp/article/view/1109

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