Plato's symposium is not just a speech on the topic of love, it is a tribute to Socrates and his way of life, and the entire course of the discussion is driven by the ultimate goal of presenting Socrates as the representation of love itself. Although this happens slowly and indirectly through a series of steps, Plato ultimately makes clear his admiration for Socrates' lifestyle. This can therefore be compared not only to Socrates' method of convincing others that his view of love is correct, but also to the process of love's ascent. All speeches are instrumental to Socrates' presentation: the first, despite being superficial and banal in content, are important for the process of which they are part; Diotima's speech is important because it sets the stage for Socrates' depiction of love; and finally Alcibiades' speech serves to complete the comparison. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The text begins as a series of speeches primarily about the benefits of love, but soon moves into discussion of what exactly love is. All interlocutors take turns expressing their thoughts on love, and each tries to do so in a way that is flattering to themselves and their lifestyle. Based on personal beliefs and experiences, every man, from the comedian to the politician, expresses his opinion. Their views on love vary as much as their lifestyles and, therefore, there is disagreement over what exactly the accurate definition of love is. When each man speaks, he refutes some parts of the previous speaker's argument and builds on other parts; the concept of love becomes increasingly broader and more abstract. The dissension between the men, however, allows the reader to both see the progression and evolution of the meaning of love and to see the connection between this process and the process of love itself. According to Diotima, the process of love is necessarily slow and careful, therefore the discovery of the meaning of love must also allow for the deepening and refutation of the erroneous beliefs of the initial speakers. Plato uses the various speakers to not only present conflicting views, but also to create a process through which these men seek knowledge. This process parallels Diotima's description of love as a process: an ongoing search for beauty and wisdom and an ascension of the soul. His concept of love is in stark contrast to everyone else's. He describes it primarily as the desire to possess good things for eternity. This desire requires the concomitant desire for immortality. When asked what love wants, Diotima replies: "Reproduction and birth in beauty" (206E, 53). She goes on to say: "...Reproduction lasts forever; it is what mortals have in place of immortality. A lover must desire immortality together with good, if what we agreed before was right, that the Love wants to possess the good forever. It follows that Love must desire immortality" (206E-207A, 54). For human beings, however, immortality can only be achieved through reproduction. However, there is both physical and mental reproduction, and one can be pregnant both in the body and in the soul. One can continue to live not only thanks to children, but also, more significantly, through enduring ideas. Here, Diotima builds on Pausanias' idea of ​​"heavenly" and "common" love, attributing physical offspring to "common" love and intellectual offspring or spiritual as "heavenly" loveSocrates refers directly to this principle. As a representation of the highest and heavenly love, Socrates seeks to reproduce himself through ideas and rejects the physical aspects of common love. What Alcibiades actually asks for is his inferior love for Socrates' superior love: "'gold in exchange for bronze'" (219A, 70). Socrates, however, sees the inequality of such an exchange, saying, "You [Alcibiades] can see in me a beauty that surpasses description and makes your own remarkable beauty pale in comparison. But then is this a fair exchange...? " (218E, 70). Alcibiades, however, demonstrates a love for Socrates that is of a higher level than simple physical love, which is what he himself has to offer. Alcibiades loves Socrates not only for his wisdom, but also because he believes that Socrates can make him a better person through the reproduction of his beautiful ideas. Alcibiades therefore seeks not only wisdom, but, more importantly, immortality however, he would not live up to the image of heavenly love. This then requires that she refuse Alcibiades' offer to seduce Socrates, but her expression of love is her attempt to achieve immortality. But this immortality, one must reach the highest level of love Diotima describes the process to reach this level, saying: One always goes upwards for the love of this Beauty, starting from beautiful things and using them as ladders that go up: from a body only. to two and from two to all beautiful bodies, then from beautiful bodies to beautiful customs, and from customs to learning beautiful things, and from these lessons he finally arrives at this lesson, which is learning about this same Beauty, so that in he will finally understand what it means to be beautiful... When will he look at Beauty in the only way Beauty can be seen? only then will it be possible for him not to generate images of virtue (because he is in contact without images), but to true virtue (because he is in contact with true Beauty). The love of the gods belongs to whoever has generated true virtue and nurtured it, and if any human being could be immortal, it would be him. -- Symposium, 211C-212B, 59-60 Because the ultimate goal of love is immortality, Diotima describes it as a process through which the appreciation and desire for beauty rises from the purely physical to the intellectual and finally to the mystical one. Only by climbing the final level of love, however, is one able to become immortal, and this level can only be scaled if one moves away from the basic love of the physical towards the love of sharing, or reproducing, ideas . This is exactly what Alcibiades attempts to do in prosecuting Socrates. Before this it is not possible to experience the essence of beauty, but only see its images. Only after experiencing true beauty, that beauty that cannot be seen with the eyes, can any other true beauty be reproduced. This then is immortality. Since love desires good things like immortality, beauty, and wisdom, and since people do not desire what they already have, Diotima argues that love is none of those things. This once again links love to the lover and Socrates, rather than to the beloved, as previous speakers had done. In the arguments presented by Phaedrus, Pausanias, and Eryximachus, love was entirely good and beautiful; it was representative of the beloved. Diotima, however, states that love is neither beautiful, nor wise, nor immortal. Love, in all aspects, lies between the two ends of the spectrum, and is constantly searching for these traits. This then compares him to the lover, and therefore to Socrates. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Socrates ultimately proves himself to be the exemplar of love. It is, in every.