Love is defined by Merriam-Webster as strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers, and affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests. Yet given the definitions of love we still come to asking ourselves, what is Love? There is one philosopher that answers the rhetorical question of what Love is, his name is Plato. Plato answers this question in the philosophical text known as, Symposium. In Symposium, Plato presents many arguments for love as well as the purpose, and he also presents a theory as to how love is selfish. Plato presents these things in a unique way by using numerous perspectives from a numerous amount of people.
In Plato’s Symposium, Plato presents the argument of love through Socrates. Socrates argues that love is in between many things like beauty and ugly, wisdom and ignorance and mortal and immortal. I agree with Socrates, love is not always beautiful, there are many times in love where things can get ugly. Love is not always taught through wisdom, many times in this world there are people who are ignorant that give ignorant advice. This is shown in the text through the discussion between Socrates and Diotima for example, "which, as you know, being incapable of giving a reason, is not knowledge (for how can knowledge be devoid of reason? nor again, ignorance, for neither can ignorance attain the truth), but is clearly something which is a mean between ignorance and wisdom." "Quite true," I replied. There is also discussion on how love is also mortal because sometimes the love between people can die, but also there is immortal love that is long lasting and is eternal, meaning it never dies between the couple. In the text it stated, "As in the former instance, he is neither mortal nor immortal, but in a mean between the two." "What is he, Diotima?" "He is a great spirit (daimon), and like all spirits he is intermediate between the divine and the mortal."
Plato presents the purpose of love by creating it as the central theme to his philosophical text. It is also presented and examined through the dialogue. Plato additionally shows this purpose of love by defining love through a metaphor, the metaphor is as follows, “ladder of love.” This ladder of love shows that love is a force between two people and the force between the two people is captivating. The ladder of love also shows that love is so captivating that guidance is necessary to show the purpose of love. This is shown in the text through the following examples: “[We will find wholeness] if Love is our guide and our commander,” says Aristophanes; “There is a certain guidance each person needs for his whole life,” says Phaedrus, “if he is to live well; and nothing imparts this guidance…as well as Love;” “Medicine, therefore, is guided everywhere by the god of Love,” says Eryximachus. All these people give examples as to how guidance keeps the ladder of love flowing. Also, it shows the purpose of love is to be guided by your partner. Another purpose of love according to Plato is as follows, Love is expressed physically and is the desire of finding your other half to fulfill the desire to be complete. I agree with Plato, although the definition of love has changed throughout the years. Love still is carried on by the guidance created in the relationship between the two people. Many times, your other half guides you when you need it most, whether it’s in decision making or other situations that life can throw at you. Aside from guidance, love can also be expressed physically, whether it’s through grand gestures or specifically through intimacy. Love is also the desire of finding your other half, many times we catch ourselves saying, “wow I found my soulmate” or things like, “my partner really completes me and understands me, that is my other half.” Plato accurately describe what the purpose of love is. To summarize, the purpose of love is to find your other half that can accurately guide you and also express the love shared between the two physically.
The theory of how love is selfish was created by Plato due to the insufficiency of humans and due to how love is useful. Plato basically says that humans who are in love are in love because it is some use to them. Plato also describes how love is based on self-interest. He describes love as egotistical. In the text he states, “A thing that desires,” begins Socrates, “desires something of which it is in need; otherwise, if it were not in need, it would not desire it.” This is relevant because it emphasizes that a desire is something you need. The account of love being selfish was also described in the encounter with Aristophanes, he stated that the Gods used love to their advantage. It was said as follows, “They couldn’t wipe out the human race…as they had the giants,” recalls Aristophanes, “because that would wipe out the worship they receive, along with the sacrifices we humans give them. This shows that gods, use love to their advantage, just like humans. Plato makes the theory of how love is selfish clear by saying “even the purest of beings, those well-acquainted with the Beauty towards which humans strive – those who have achieved the highest goal of Love – use Love to their advantage. If even the Gods – devoid of anything that is not good – are selfish with Love, then surely humans would be far from reprimanded for doing the same.” It is true, love is selfish because when we find love, we tend to worry about our feelings and interest more than the other person in the relationship. We also determine the love we get based on what we as a person want, that is our self-interest.
Throughout reading Symposium, by Plato, it became clear that love is selfish but, yet love has a purpose, while there is a purpose of love there are still many arguments as to what love really is. The argument of what love really is, is what still leads us to question love in modern days society. Love is many things. Love is linked to the selfishness we have within, but that selfishness within is what leads us to love someone and care for them. Love is also between many things like beautiful and ugly, as well as wisdom and ignorance and mortal and immortal because love is never the same between two people, love is different in this world no matter where you are. The difference in love between everyone is what makes love worth finding and makes the love special. For all one knows it could be possible that Plato oddly enough correctly defined love because in order to love one must physically show compassion, love must also be found within oneself to then find your other half that genuinely matches you and to find love we must be selfish to make sure we are gaining a love worth fighting for and one that matches both souls perfectly.