Overview

Plato's Symposium is an exceptionally multi-layered dialogue. At once a historical document, a philosophical drama that enacts abstract ideas in an often light-hearted way, and a literary masterpiece, it has exerted an influence that goes well beyond the confines of philosophy. The essays in this volume, by leading scholars, offer detailed analyses of all parts of the work, focusing on the central and much-debated theme of erōs or 'human desire' - which can refer both to physical desire or desire for happiness. They reveal thematic continuities between the prologue and the various speeches as well as between the speeches themselves, and present a rich collection of contrasting yet complementary readings of Diotima's speech. The volume will be invaluable for classicists and philosophers alike, and for all who are interested in one of Plato's most fascinating and challenging dialogues.

Full Product Details

Author:   Pierre Destrée (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium) ,  Zina Giannopoulou (University of California, Irvine)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.400kg
ISBN:  

9781107525696

ISBN 10:   1107525691
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   03 January 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1. Narrative temporalities and models of desire Zina Giannopoulou; 2. Unfamiliar voices: harmonizing the non-Socratic speeches and Plato's psychology Jeremy Reid; 3. A doctor's folly: diagnosing the speech of Eryximachus Franco V. Trivigno; 4. Aristophanic tragedy Suzanne Obdrzalek; 5. Divinization David Sedley; 6. Why Agathon's beauty matters Francisco Gonzalez; 7. Erōs and the pursuit of form F. C. C. Sheffield; 8. The mortal soul and immortal happiness Andrea Nightingale; 9. A fetish for fixity? Christopher Shields; 10. Generating in beauty for the sake of immortality: personal love and the goals of the lover Anthony W. Price; 11. Alcibiades the profane: images of the mysteries Radcliffe Edmonds; 12. How does contemplation make you happy? An ethical reading of Diotima's speech Pierre Destrée; 13. Eudaimonism and Platonic erōs Richard Kraut.

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Author Information

Pierre Destrée is Associate Research Professor in Philosophy at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. He has co-edited several volumes on ancient ethics, politics, and aesthetics, including The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle's Politics (Cambridge, 2013). Zina Giannopoulou is Associate Professor in Classics at the University of California, Irvine. Her publications include Plato's Theaetetus as a Second Apology (2013).

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