Terryl L. Givens
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195313901
- eISBN:
- 9780199871933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313901.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Preexistence is associated with both Pythagoras and Orpheus, however. Plato is the most important classical source for ideas about pre-existence, writing about it in Phaedo, Meno, Phaedrus, Republic, ...
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Preexistence is associated with both Pythagoras and Orpheus, however. Plato is the most important classical source for ideas about pre-existence, writing about it in Phaedo, Meno, Phaedrus, Republic, and Timaeus. Symposium also presents a version of soul-mate love as have premortal bases. Preexistence supports Plato's particular epistemology as well as a version of theodicy and his understanding of erotic desire. Plato also links preexistence to theosis, a connection that will contribute to the paradigms eventual demise.Less
Preexistence is associated with both Pythagoras and Orpheus, however. Plato is the most important classical source for ideas about pre-existence, writing about it in Phaedo, Meno, Phaedrus, Republic, and Timaeus. Symposium also presents a version of soul-mate love as have premortal bases. Preexistence supports Plato's particular epistemology as well as a version of theodicy and his understanding of erotic desire. Plato also links preexistence to theosis, a connection that will contribute to the paradigms eventual demise.
Cathy Gutierrez
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195388350
- eISBN:
- 9780199866472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388350.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly ...
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The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly seen as an emotional and romantic fulfillment of human needs. Spiritualists agreed that love was of utmost importance but recognized that many unhappy marriages resulted in women and children caught in impossible situations. Spiritualists advocated an eternal love between soul mates but fought for reform of marriage and divorce law at the same time. True love was understood using Aristophanes’ portrayal of the primal androgynous unit from Plato’s Symposium—love gathered the halves of bodies as well as souls. At the fringes of the movement were sex radicals and free-love adherents like Victoria Woodhull who called for dramatic legal reform in both marriage and eugenics.Less
The creation of a white-collar class in America brought with it changes in demographic patterns, particularly where romance was concerned. No longer largely economic, marriage became increasingly seen as an emotional and romantic fulfillment of human needs. Spiritualists agreed that love was of utmost importance but recognized that many unhappy marriages resulted in women and children caught in impossible situations. Spiritualists advocated an eternal love between soul mates but fought for reform of marriage and divorce law at the same time. True love was understood using Aristophanes’ portrayal of the primal androgynous unit from Plato’s Symposium—love gathered the halves of bodies as well as souls. At the fringes of the movement were sex radicals and free-love adherents like Victoria Woodhull who called for dramatic legal reform in both marriage and eugenics.
Vered Lev Kenaan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199236343
- eISBN:
- 9780191717130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199236343.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter argues that, in the Symposium, Plato not only recalls Hesiodic passages and motifs at important moments in the dialogue, but founds his portrayal of Socrates on Hesiod's Pandora. The ...
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This chapter argues that, in the Symposium, Plato not only recalls Hesiodic passages and motifs at important moments in the dialogue, but founds his portrayal of Socrates on Hesiod's Pandora. The claim is striking, even paradoxical if one thinks of Pandora as the bringer of evils. But defined, like Socrates, by the rift between interior and exterior, essence and appearance, Pandora is, like Socrates, a marvel to behold — and (also like him) a challenge to the intellect, the obvious prompt to philosophical inquiry.Less
This chapter argues that, in the Symposium, Plato not only recalls Hesiodic passages and motifs at important moments in the dialogue, but founds his portrayal of Socrates on Hesiod's Pandora. The claim is striking, even paradoxical if one thinks of Pandora as the bringer of evils. But defined, like Socrates, by the rift between interior and exterior, essence and appearance, Pandora is, like Socrates, a marvel to behold — and (also like him) a challenge to the intellect, the obvious prompt to philosophical inquiry.
Joshua Landy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195188561
- eISBN:
- 9780199949458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188561.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
Plato’s character Socrates is clearly a sophisticated logician. Why then does he fall, at times, into the most elementary fallacies? It is, this chapter proposes, because the end goal for Plato is ...
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Plato’s character Socrates is clearly a sophisticated logician. Why then does he fall, at times, into the most elementary fallacies? It is, this chapter proposes, because the end goal for Plato is not the mere acquisition of superior understanding but instead a well-lived life, a life lived in harmony with oneself. For such an end, accurate opinions are necessary but not sufficient: what we crucially need is a method, a procedure for ridding ourselves of those opinions that are false. Now learning a method is a very different business from learning a set of ideas. It requires not just study but practice, and practice is precisely what Plato’s dialogues, thanks to the layer of irony between author and protagonist, make possible. If we have a predisposition for detecting and are interested in resolving conflicts within a set of beliefs—if, that is, we instinctively posit logical consistency as a desideratum in life—then we stand to learn, when we read the dialogues, not only what to think but also, and far more important, how to think.Less
Plato’s character Socrates is clearly a sophisticated logician. Why then does he fall, at times, into the most elementary fallacies? It is, this chapter proposes, because the end goal for Plato is not the mere acquisition of superior understanding but instead a well-lived life, a life lived in harmony with oneself. For such an end, accurate opinions are necessary but not sufficient: what we crucially need is a method, a procedure for ridding ourselves of those opinions that are false. Now learning a method is a very different business from learning a set of ideas. It requires not just study but practice, and practice is precisely what Plato’s dialogues, thanks to the layer of irony between author and protagonist, make possible. If we have a predisposition for detecting and are interested in resolving conflicts within a set of beliefs—if, that is, we instinctively posit logical consistency as a desideratum in life—then we stand to learn, when we read the dialogues, not only what to think but also, and far more important, how to think.
Robert C. Solomon
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780195145502
- eISBN:
- 9780199834969
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019514550X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal ...
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I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal of historical and cultural variation. And I give an analysis of what love is as shared identity. On the way, I also talk about sex and Plato's Symposium.Less
I suggest that erotic love is (or can be) a virtue. I contest both the cynicism and the vacuousness in much of the love literature. I argue that love is a historical emotion, involving a great deal of historical and cultural variation. And I give an analysis of what love is as shared identity. On the way, I also talk about sex and Plato's Symposium.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of ...
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The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of the beauty of the object to an explanation in terms of the lover. However, what Eros accounts is the very fact that one perceives the objects as desirable and worth having. That perception of the beloved as desirable is something inspired by the work of Eros that transforms one from mere mortal without erotic aspirations to philosophers who yearn for what they perceive as good. It is an attitude that takes one outside oneself, to see oneself as lacking and inadequate, and which enables one to proceed on the road of philosophy and follow the spirit of Socrates, or Eros, who can inspire one with the love of wisdom.Less
The contrast between Plotinus and Plato shows us something about what is important in the account of love in the Symposium. Diotima had diverted our attention from an explanation of love in terms of the beauty of the object to an explanation in terms of the lover. However, what Eros accounts is the very fact that one perceives the objects as desirable and worth having. That perception of the beloved as desirable is something inspired by the work of Eros that transforms one from mere mortal without erotic aspirations to philosophers who yearn for what they perceive as good. It is an attitude that takes one outside oneself, to see oneself as lacking and inadequate, and which enables one to proceed on the road of philosophy and follow the spirit of Socrates, or Eros, who can inspire one with the love of wisdom.
Renée C. Fox and Judith P. Swazey
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195365559
- eISBN:
- 9780199851881
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365559.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The symposium “Choices on Our Conscience” was more than just an inaugural event for the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and Bioethics. It was said to be “a ...
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The symposium “Choices on Our Conscience” was more than just an inaugural event for the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and Bioethics. It was said to be “a symposium on human rights, retardation, and research.” This chapter provides a detailed account of the said symposium.Less
The symposium “Choices on Our Conscience” was more than just an inaugural event for the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and Bioethics. It was said to be “a symposium on human rights, retardation, and research.” This chapter provides a detailed account of the said symposium.
A. W. Price
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198248996
- eISBN:
- 9780191681172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198248996.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
For Socrates, love is for possessing the good oneself for ever or for the good to belong to oneself always. In effect, his statement is more of a statement of the final goal of all desire. Beauty as ...
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For Socrates, love is for possessing the good oneself for ever or for the good to belong to oneself always. In effect, his statement is more of a statement of the final goal of all desire. Beauty as the goal of love needs some clarification as the common thought here is that the lover wants to possess a beauty in the sense of his making love to him or her. In fact, this will turn out to be part of what Socrates does envisage, even if procreation is mental—if it can be counted that doing philosophy with a beautiful boy as a Platonic way of making love to him. Overall, however, the route here is not that direct as central to this idea is neither beauty, nor ownership, nor immortality, but goodness.Less
For Socrates, love is for possessing the good oneself for ever or for the good to belong to oneself always. In effect, his statement is more of a statement of the final goal of all desire. Beauty as the goal of love needs some clarification as the common thought here is that the lover wants to possess a beauty in the sense of his making love to him or her. In fact, this will turn out to be part of what Socrates does envisage, even if procreation is mental—if it can be counted that doing philosophy with a beautiful boy as a Platonic way of making love to him. Overall, however, the route here is not that direct as central to this idea is neither beauty, nor ownership, nor immortality, but goodness.
Nicholas White
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198250593
- eISBN:
- 9780191598661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198250592.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Before Plato there are ample cases in which Greek poets, philosophers, and politicians recognize the possibility that individual and social good can conflict. Nor does Plato think that a full ...
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Before Plato there are ample cases in which Greek poets, philosophers, and politicians recognize the possibility that individual and social good can conflict. Nor does Plato think that a full understanding of the notion of one's good must demonstrate that it cannot conflict with standards of justice. On the contrary, Plato holds that such conflicts can occur even in the case of the rulers of his ideal city‐state. This idea is not contradicted by evidence of other works, such as the Meno, the Symposium, and the Philebus. Nevertheless, although Plato's view admits what is normally thought to be a characteristically Kantian conflict of ethical standards with one's good, it still possesses some distinctly eudaimonistic elements that are at variance with the Kantian view.Less
Before Plato there are ample cases in which Greek poets, philosophers, and politicians recognize the possibility that individual and social good can conflict. Nor does Plato think that a full understanding of the notion of one's good must demonstrate that it cannot conflict with standards of justice. On the contrary, Plato holds that such conflicts can occur even in the case of the rulers of his ideal city‐state. This idea is not contradicted by evidence of other works, such as the Meno, the Symposium, and the Philebus. Nevertheless, although Plato's view admits what is normally thought to be a characteristically Kantian conflict of ethical standards with one's good, it still possesses some distinctly eudaimonistic elements that are at variance with the Kantian view.
Christopher Janaway
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198237921
- eISBN:
- 9780191597800
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198237928.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Considers the role Plato assigns to beauty, and whether for him beauty is connected with what we now call ‘aesthetic pleasure’. The Greek kalon, often translated as ‘beautiful’, can also be rendered ...
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Considers the role Plato assigns to beauty, and whether for him beauty is connected with what we now call ‘aesthetic pleasure’. The Greek kalon, often translated as ‘beautiful’, can also be rendered as ‘fine’, and applies to a kind of value that is not exclusively aesthetic. A discussion of the dialogue Hippias Major reveals many of the connotations of kalon. Also looks at Plato's most famous treatment of the topic in Socrates’ speech in the Symposium. The high value Plato assigns to beauty should not be taken, however, to single out aesthetic value, nor should it be thought that he regards art as any specially privileged source of beauty.Less
Considers the role Plato assigns to beauty, and whether for him beauty is connected with what we now call ‘aesthetic pleasure’. The Greek kalon, often translated as ‘beautiful’, can also be rendered as ‘fine’, and applies to a kind of value that is not exclusively aesthetic. A discussion of the dialogue Hippias Major reveals many of the connotations of kalon. Also looks at Plato's most famous treatment of the topic in Socrates’ speech in the Symposium. The high value Plato assigns to beauty should not be taken, however, to single out aesthetic value, nor should it be thought that he regards art as any specially privileged source of beauty.
Vivienne J. Gray
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199563814
- eISBN:
- 9780191724954
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563814.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book is about Xenophon's literary presentation of the leadership of individuals in their communities, from those of private households up to those of great empires. Leadership is his main ...
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This book is about Xenophon's literary presentation of the leadership of individuals in their communities, from those of private households up to those of great empires. Leadership is his main interest throughout his works, and the examination of the methods he uses to portray leadership gives us an insight into his general literary techniques. The main aim is to show that these techniques produce images of leaders that are rich in literary and conceptual interest and contribute to the literary theory of writing in prose. As part of this analysis, the book addresses readings that have found concealed criticism behind his apparently positive images of leadership in a majority of his works. These represent a dominant trend of literary criticism of Xenophon in our time and we can profit from engaging with them. They can be called ‘ironical’ or ‘subversive’ or ‘darker’ readings and they reflect the preoccupation of the modern world with irony. They reveal the democratic suspicion of leaders that is reflected in modern management theory, which finds leadership problematic because of its inherent drift to autocracy, but solves the dilemma by placing restrictions on the power of leaders, such as the need to secure assent from other members of the organization, and to give them self-determination, inclusiveness, equal participation and deliberation. Xenophon believed also that leaders were fundamental to the success of any organization, but he also knew the risk of the drift toward autocracy, and it will become clear in the course of the analysis that his theory placed restrictions on his leaders that are very like the ones mentioned above in connection with modern democratic management theory.Less
This book is about Xenophon's literary presentation of the leadership of individuals in their communities, from those of private households up to those of great empires. Leadership is his main interest throughout his works, and the examination of the methods he uses to portray leadership gives us an insight into his general literary techniques. The main aim is to show that these techniques produce images of leaders that are rich in literary and conceptual interest and contribute to the literary theory of writing in prose. As part of this analysis, the book addresses readings that have found concealed criticism behind his apparently positive images of leadership in a majority of his works. These represent a dominant trend of literary criticism of Xenophon in our time and we can profit from engaging with them. They can be called ‘ironical’ or ‘subversive’ or ‘darker’ readings and they reflect the preoccupation of the modern world with irony. They reveal the democratic suspicion of leaders that is reflected in modern management theory, which finds leadership problematic because of its inherent drift to autocracy, but solves the dilemma by placing restrictions on the power of leaders, such as the need to secure assent from other members of the organization, and to give them self-determination, inclusiveness, equal participation and deliberation. Xenophon believed also that leaders were fundamental to the success of any organization, but he also knew the risk of the drift toward autocracy, and it will become clear in the course of the analysis that his theory placed restrictions on his leaders that are very like the ones mentioned above in connection with modern democratic management theory.
Robert G. Morrison
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198238652
- eISBN:
- 9780191679711
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198238652.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
In the Will to Power, Nietzsche envisages the cosmos as ‘a monster of energy, without beginning, without end,…a creating and destroying play of forces,…an eternal becoming that must return ...
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In the Will to Power, Nietzsche envisages the cosmos as ‘a monster of energy, without beginning, without end,…a creating and destroying play of forces,…an eternal becoming that must return eternally’. This is Nietzsche's ‘Dionysian world’, the world as ‘will to power’. Within this world, man is a particular and discrete embodiment of this will to power, a particular configuration of a ‘play of forces’ emerging at a distinct point in the evolution of the natural world. Man is therefore a product of a world that precedes him. Buddhism, on the other hand, has never had a philosophy of nature, nor has it felt it necessary to have any definite view on the ultimate origins of man or the cosmos. As Nietzsche's notion of will to power has its paradigm in Hesiod's notion of Eris or Strife, this chapter uses the notion of Erōs as found in Plato's Symposium as a paradigm for tanhā.Less
In the Will to Power, Nietzsche envisages the cosmos as ‘a monster of energy, without beginning, without end,…a creating and destroying play of forces,…an eternal becoming that must return eternally’. This is Nietzsche's ‘Dionysian world’, the world as ‘will to power’. Within this world, man is a particular and discrete embodiment of this will to power, a particular configuration of a ‘play of forces’ emerging at a distinct point in the evolution of the natural world. Man is therefore a product of a world that precedes him. Buddhism, on the other hand, has never had a philosophy of nature, nor has it felt it necessary to have any definite view on the ultimate origins of man or the cosmos. As Nietzsche's notion of will to power has its paradigm in Hesiod's notion of Eris or Strife, this chapter uses the notion of Erōs as found in Plato's Symposium as a paradigm for tanhā.
Robert C. Solomon
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195165401
- eISBN:
- 9780199870103
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165403.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
The most virtuous life need not be the life of calm tranquility, peace of mind, and merely intellectual contemplation. There is also a good life to be had that is defined by emotions, by impassioned ...
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The most virtuous life need not be the life of calm tranquility, peace of mind, and merely intellectual contemplation. There is also a good life to be had that is defined by emotions, by impassioned engagements and quests, by embracing affections, by constant striving, even frenzy, typified by insatiability and impossible passions. So, too, the virtues are not all about moderation. Not all passions are irrational, out of control, or “violent.” A life without passion would be a life barely worth living.Less
The most virtuous life need not be the life of calm tranquility, peace of mind, and merely intellectual contemplation. There is also a good life to be had that is defined by emotions, by impassioned engagements and quests, by embracing affections, by constant striving, even frenzy, typified by insatiability and impossible passions. So, too, the virtues are not all about moderation. Not all passions are irrational, out of control, or “violent.” A life without passion would be a life barely worth living.
Andrew Ford
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199733293
- eISBN:
- 9780199918539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733293.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
That Aristotle borrowed the standard form for lyric hymns is shown through an analysis of Ariphron’s song in praise of Health, which is classified as a kind of hymn, a “paean,” in our sources. The ...
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That Aristotle borrowed the standard form for lyric hymns is shown through an analysis of Ariphron’s song in praise of Health, which is classified as a kind of hymn, a “paean,” in our sources. The question of the genre of Aristotle’s song remains open, however, because Pindar’s Olympian 14 shows that hymnic form could be incorporated into other genres. This Pindaric poem is also read to suggest that parts of poems could be reperformed as new kinds of song in new contexts, especially at symposia. The range of hymnic forms in different musical and metrical modes is shown through a reading of hexameter and elegiac hymns by “Homer,” Aristotle, and “Socrates.”Less
That Aristotle borrowed the standard form for lyric hymns is shown through an analysis of Ariphron’s song in praise of Health, which is classified as a kind of hymn, a “paean,” in our sources. The question of the genre of Aristotle’s song remains open, however, because Pindar’s Olympian 14 shows that hymnic form could be incorporated into other genres. This Pindaric poem is also read to suggest that parts of poems could be reperformed as new kinds of song in new contexts, especially at symposia. The range of hymnic forms in different musical and metrical modes is shown through a reading of hexameter and elegiac hymns by “Homer,” Aristotle, and “Socrates.”
Victoria Wohl
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199242399
- eISBN:
- 9780191714078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242399.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter centres on Xenophon's Symposium and the significance of dance within the dialogue. Beginning with a discussion of dancing, pleasure, and paideia in Plato's Laws, it suggests that ...
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This chapter centres on Xenophon's Symposium and the significance of dance within the dialogue. Beginning with a discussion of dancing, pleasure, and paideia in Plato's Laws, it suggests that Xenophon's text is concerned with the same philosophical issues surrounding mousike, mimesis, pleasure, and the good. The dialogue stages a competition between the pleasure of dance and the pleasure of philosophical discourse. But Socrates himself is figured as a dancer, an image which is explored within the context of two interconnected sympotic themes, paideia, and eros. The contest proves to be less straight-forward than might first appear, for the lascivious dance with which the dialogue ends threatens to undermine Socrates' earlier insistence on the superiority of ouranian pederastic eros.Less
This chapter centres on Xenophon's Symposium and the significance of dance within the dialogue. Beginning with a discussion of dancing, pleasure, and paideia in Plato's Laws, it suggests that Xenophon's text is concerned with the same philosophical issues surrounding mousike, mimesis, pleasure, and the good. The dialogue stages a competition between the pleasure of dance and the pleasure of philosophical discourse. But Socrates himself is figured as a dancer, an image which is explored within the context of two interconnected sympotic themes, paideia, and eros. The contest proves to be less straight-forward than might first appear, for the lascivious dance with which the dialogue ends threatens to undermine Socrates' earlier insistence on the superiority of ouranian pederastic eros.
Thomas L. Pangle
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226642475
- eISBN:
- 9780226642505
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226642505.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In a famous pronouncement, Cicero observes that prior to Socrates, philosophic science “dealt with number and motion, and that from which all things originate and into which they return, and studied ...
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In a famous pronouncement, Cicero observes that prior to Socrates, philosophic science “dealt with number and motion, and that from which all things originate and into which they return, and studied the size, distance between, and course of stars and of all celestial things”: it was Socrates who “was the first to call philosophy down from heaven and to set it in cities and to introduce it into the household and to compel it to inquire into life and mores and good and bad things.” Cicero follows above all the eyewitness presentation of Socrates by Xenophon, whose Socratic dialogue The Economist (Oikonomikos = “Skilled Household Manager”) Cicero translated into Latin. The aim of the present book (a sequel to The Socratic Way of Life: Xenophon’s Memorabilia) is to show how the account of Socrates in Xenophon’s Memorabilia—Xenophon’s longest and best known, but highly defensive, portrayal of Socrates—is decisively deepened as well as complemented by the three shorter writings that Xenophon devoted to portraying Socrates in action, as Socrates founded and initiated what has come to be known as political and moral philosophy.Less
In a famous pronouncement, Cicero observes that prior to Socrates, philosophic science “dealt with number and motion, and that from which all things originate and into which they return, and studied the size, distance between, and course of stars and of all celestial things”: it was Socrates who “was the first to call philosophy down from heaven and to set it in cities and to introduce it into the household and to compel it to inquire into life and mores and good and bad things.” Cicero follows above all the eyewitness presentation of Socrates by Xenophon, whose Socratic dialogue The Economist (Oikonomikos = “Skilled Household Manager”) Cicero translated into Latin. The aim of the present book (a sequel to The Socratic Way of Life: Xenophon’s Memorabilia) is to show how the account of Socrates in Xenophon’s Memorabilia—Xenophon’s longest and best known, but highly defensive, portrayal of Socrates—is decisively deepened as well as complemented by the three shorter writings that Xenophon devoted to portraying Socrates in action, as Socrates founded and initiated what has come to be known as political and moral philosophy.
Morris Beja and Anne Fogarty (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034027
- eISBN:
- 9780813038162
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034027.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
June 16, 2004, was the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the day that James Joyce's novel Ulysses takes place. To celebrate the occasion, thousands took to the streets in Dublin, following in the ...
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June 16, 2004, was the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the day that James Joyce's novel Ulysses takes place. To celebrate the occasion, thousands took to the streets in Dublin, following in the footsteps of protagonist Leopold Bloom. The event also was marked by the Bloomsday 100 Symposium, where world-renowned scholars discussed Joyce's seminal work. This volume contains readings of Ulysses presented at the conference. The contributors to this volume urge a close engagement with the novel. They offer readings that focus variously on the materialist, historical, and political dimensions of Ulysses. The diversity of topics covered include nineteenth-century psychology, military history, Catholic theology, the influence of early film and music hall songs on Joyce, the post-Ulysses evolution of the one-day novel, and the challenge of discussing such a complex work amongst the sea of extant criticism.Less
June 16, 2004, was the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the day that James Joyce's novel Ulysses takes place. To celebrate the occasion, thousands took to the streets in Dublin, following in the footsteps of protagonist Leopold Bloom. The event also was marked by the Bloomsday 100 Symposium, where world-renowned scholars discussed Joyce's seminal work. This volume contains readings of Ulysses presented at the conference. The contributors to this volume urge a close engagement with the novel. They offer readings that focus variously on the materialist, historical, and political dimensions of Ulysses. The diversity of topics covered include nineteenth-century psychology, military history, Catholic theology, the influence of early film and music hall songs on Joyce, the post-Ulysses evolution of the one-day novel, and the challenge of discussing such a complex work amongst the sea of extant criticism.
Shadi Bartsch
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226241845
- eISBN:
- 9780226241982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226241982.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
What healthy vegetables and rich meatstuffs are to Persius’ metaphorical division of poetry into good and bad, friendship and sexuality are to his discussion of pedagogy as itself morally charged for ...
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What healthy vegetables and rich meatstuffs are to Persius’ metaphorical division of poetry into good and bad, friendship and sexuality are to his discussion of pedagogy as itself morally charged for better or worse. In Satire 4, Persius takes on and reformulates Plato’s Alcibiades I, in which Socrates’ seductive ways are shown as reforming Alcibiades and making him ready to study philosophy. This satire challenges that happy picture by bringing in the Symposium to show up Alcibiades as a pedagogic failure, and both sexuality and dialectic are criticized as ineffective elements in the Platonic depiction of teaching philosophy. Instead, Persius praises the inwardly turned gaze of the Stoic student and, in Satire 5, demonstrates through the figure of Cornutus the kind of teacher that should replace Socrates as an ideal.Less
What healthy vegetables and rich meatstuffs are to Persius’ metaphorical division of poetry into good and bad, friendship and sexuality are to his discussion of pedagogy as itself morally charged for better or worse. In Satire 4, Persius takes on and reformulates Plato’s Alcibiades I, in which Socrates’ seductive ways are shown as reforming Alcibiades and making him ready to study philosophy. This satire challenges that happy picture by bringing in the Symposium to show up Alcibiades as a pedagogic failure, and both sexuality and dialectic are criticized as ineffective elements in the Platonic depiction of teaching philosophy. Instead, Persius praises the inwardly turned gaze of the Stoic student and, in Satire 5, demonstrates through the figure of Cornutus the kind of teacher that should replace Socrates as an ideal.
Linnell Secomb
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623679
- eISBN:
- 9780748671854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623679.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Love is an incompletion. The Symposium is structured as a series of stories or speeches about love and philosophy. It determines a connection between love and ...
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Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Love is an incompletion. The Symposium is structured as a series of stories or speeches about love and philosophy. It determines a connection between love and philosophy, indicating that both are an unending movement between ignorance and knowledge, lack and fulfilment. The roles of lover and beloved become equivocally interlaced. Jacques Derrida reflects on the operation of a postal principle that he equates with the Freudian conception of the pleasure principle. Love protests a closure or completion that would end the mediations and oscillations of love. Bringing together philosophies and stories of love, and reading these re-presentations as unworking disseminations and deconstructions show the entwining of love, philosophy and cultural creations. All three unravel finality, stasis, closure and totality, exposing the sharing and the openness or exposure that creates connection between self and the other in sociality.Less
Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Love is an incompletion. The Symposium is structured as a series of stories or speeches about love and philosophy. It determines a connection between love and philosophy, indicating that both are an unending movement between ignorance and knowledge, lack and fulfilment. The roles of lover and beloved become equivocally interlaced. Jacques Derrida reflects on the operation of a postal principle that he equates with the Freudian conception of the pleasure principle. Love protests a closure or completion that would end the mediations and oscillations of love. Bringing together philosophies and stories of love, and reading these re-presentations as unworking disseminations and deconstructions show the entwining of love, philosophy and cultural creations. All three unravel finality, stasis, closure and totality, exposing the sharing and the openness or exposure that creates connection between self and the other in sociality.
Linnell Secomb
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623679
- eISBN:
- 9780748671854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623679.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that ...
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This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that mediates and moves between opposites. Diotima's love is a mediation moving between opposite terms but never reaching a static conclusion and always in a process of becoming. Alcibiades provides his own account of love. His speech is generally regarded as light comic relief following the more profound and serious Socratic image of philosophy as love of knowledge. Plato's Phaedrus like the Symposium speaks of love — though in the form of a conversation between two friends, Phaedrus and Socrates. Alcibiades' simultaneous passion for Socrates and for his wisdom, and the games of seduction and obstruction that Alcibiades and Socrates both employ indicate that seeking knowledge is not antithetical to, but rather facilitated by, erotic passions.Less
This chapter reviews the aspects of Plato and Sappho's reflections on love, pointing to similarities and differences between their visions of Eros. Love is a lacking and a reaching for more that mediates and moves between opposites. Diotima's love is a mediation moving between opposite terms but never reaching a static conclusion and always in a process of becoming. Alcibiades provides his own account of love. His speech is generally regarded as light comic relief following the more profound and serious Socratic image of philosophy as love of knowledge. Plato's Phaedrus like the Symposium speaks of love — though in the form of a conversation between two friends, Phaedrus and Socrates. Alcibiades' simultaneous passion for Socrates and for his wisdom, and the games of seduction and obstruction that Alcibiades and Socrates both employ indicate that seeking knowledge is not antithetical to, but rather facilitated by, erotic passions.
