Symposium and Phaedrus

... Show More
It has been said that, after the Bible, Plato's dialogues are the most influential books in Western culture. Of the dialogues, the Symposium is the most delightful and accessible, requiring no special knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy or customs. Dramatizing a party in fifth-century B.C. Athens, the deceptively unassuming Symposium introduces—in the guise of convivial after-dinner conversation—profound ideas about the nature of love. In Phaedrus, here published together with the Symposium, Plato discusses the place of eloquence in expounding truth. In both dialogues, Socrates plays the leading role, by turns teasing, arguing, analyzing, joking, inspiring, and cajoling his followers into understanding ideas that have remained central to Western thought through the centuries.

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,-0370

About the author

... Show More
Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 80 votes)
5 stars
27(34%)
4 stars
22(28%)
3 stars
31(39%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
80 reviews All reviews
April 16,2025
... Show More
There are three main reasons why people read Plato’s Phaedrus: love, rhetoric, and metempsychosis.

Most, I’d say, read it as an endeavor to uncover the meaning of love, to study the differences between the lover and the beloved, and to compare the non-lover to the lover. Then, there are the literature and philosophy students who are often required to read it while studying rhetoric. And, finally, there are those —like an old Druze friend of mine — who go to it to learn more about Plato’s idea of metempsychosis.

I was a curious (bored) student once, so I’ve naturally read Phaedrus multiple times for the above reasons. But today, as I find myself suffering from a mild hangover, I’m reading Phaedrus for entirely different reasons.

My Notes:
https://boredabsurdist.com/2024/01/03...
April 16,2025
... Show More
Platón, y dos bellos "diálogos" sobre el amor y la belleza. Plásticamente preciosos, hay que profundizar en su lectura...
April 16,2025
... Show More
ah, the populated and one-sided dialogues of plato .... wanted to read again of the ladder of love: you start off being physically attracted to one other beautiful body .. but then, you think why just be attracted to one body? why not be attracted to them all? ... but then, you will come to see that beauty is even more perfectly situated in the soul rather than the body. once you have become attracted to physical beauty, next you will be attracted to beautiful souls and will fall in love with beautiful souls, perhaps neglecting to see the physical. gradually you ascend this ladder which will lead you ever further and further away from particular humans in their bodies towards ever more abstract objects of desire. you start to fall in love with the arts, sciences, laws, cultures, ideas .. and finally, revealed to you at the top of the ladder is this transcendent vision of the form of beauty itself .. and there, with that vision, life will be truly livable, if life is livable anywhere... to clarify, if you are in love with one beautiful person or soul, you are enslaved to them, you're trapped. they could die, they could leave you, they could stop loving you .. it's a painful, transitory, vulnerable existence... but, the form of beauty is always going to be there for you ... and yet, interestingly enough, it's never going to love you back. the form of beauty is perfect and has no need of your love, it's a one way experience. so we have to ask ourselves then, is this still a state of being in love?
April 16,2025
... Show More
To be clear, I'm giving The Symposium 5 stars, not Phaedrus. The Symposium was a delight to read! I absolutely loved it. Phaedrus was okay, but I think Plato has much better dialogues, honestly.
April 16,2025
... Show More
I have only read "Symposium", but I enjoyed some of the more narrative parts, and understood most of it at a young age. He was the "original" plagiarist (all writers are, really - some are just better at slight-of-hand and hiding it). You can quote me on that last bit.
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.