4 3 06 Amir Plato Love
Practical Philosophy
November 2001
Plato’s theory of Love: Rationality as Passion
Lydia Amir 'I … profess to understand nothing but matters of love. '
Socrates in Plato’s Symposium.
times, when due to their education and to political changes, women earned the right to love and to be loved as equals to men.
Introduction
One of the most influential traditions of love in the
Western world is Platonism. Originating with Plato’s writings on love (mainly the Symposium whose explicit subject is the nature of love and Phaedrus, but also the
Republic and the Laws), the tradition flourished through
Aristotle, Plotinus and the revival of neo-Platonism in the
Renaissance. But Plato’s influence expanded beyond the tradition he started: the Courtly Love of the Middle-Ages, the Romanticism of the 19th century, important characteristics of religious love and even many Freudian ideas are rooted in his theory of love (de Rougemont,
1983). Today, interest in Plato’s view of love is being renewed (Nussbaum, 2001, chapt. 6; Levy, 1979; Vlastos,
1973; Moravicsik, 1972).
In the popular mind Platonism is associated with the concept of Platonic love, which is understood today as a non-sexual relationship between heterosexual friends. As the concept of Platonic love is far from doing justice to
Plato’s complex theory of love and sex, French scholars found it helpful to distinguish between amour platonique
(the concept of non-sexual love) and amour platonicien
(love according to Plato) (Gould, 1963, p. 1).
Two rectifications of the popular concept of Platonic love seem necessary in order to appreciate the relevance of
Plato’s theory of love to contemporary problems. The first is related to the non-sexual aspect of the loving relationship, for Plato’s theory of love includes sex. The second is related to the heterosexual aspect of the loving relationship. Indeed, Plato considers love between people solely as a homosexual phenomenon, whereas his discussion of sex includes both
November 2001
Plato’s theory of Love: Rationality as Passion
Lydia Amir 'I … profess to understand nothing but matters of love. '
Socrates in Plato’s Symposium.
times, when due to their education and to political changes, women earned the right to love and to be loved as equals to men.
Introduction
One of the most influential traditions of love in the
Western world is Platonism. Originating with Plato’s writings on love (mainly the Symposium whose explicit subject is the nature of love and Phaedrus, but also the
Republic and the Laws), the tradition flourished through
Aristotle, Plotinus and the revival of neo-Platonism in the
Renaissance. But Plato’s influence expanded beyond the tradition he started: the Courtly Love of the Middle-Ages, the Romanticism of the 19th century, important characteristics of religious love and even many Freudian ideas are rooted in his theory of love (de Rougemont,
1983). Today, interest in Plato’s view of love is being renewed (Nussbaum, 2001, chapt. 6; Levy, 1979; Vlastos,
1973; Moravicsik, 1972).
In the popular mind Platonism is associated with the concept of Platonic love, which is understood today as a non-sexual relationship between heterosexual friends. As the concept of Platonic love is far from doing justice to
Plato’s complex theory of love and sex, French scholars found it helpful to distinguish between amour platonique
(the concept of non-sexual love) and amour platonicien
(love according to Plato) (Gould, 1963, p. 1).
Two rectifications of the popular concept of Platonic love seem necessary in order to appreciate the relevance of
Plato’s theory of love to contemporary problems. The first is related to the non-sexual aspect of the loving relationship, for Plato’s theory of love includes sex. The second is related to the heterosexual aspect of the loving relationship. Indeed, Plato considers love between people solely as a homosexual phenomenon, whereas his discussion of sex includes both
References: Gonzalez-Reigosa, F. and Kaminsky, H. (1989) Greek sexuality, Greek homosexuality, Greek culture: the Gould, T. (1963) Platonic Love. New York: The Free Press. Kierkegaard, S. (1978) Either/Or. Part I. In Kierkegaard’s Writings Levy, D. (1979) The Definition of Love in Plato’s Symposium, Journal of History of Ideas, April-June, 14-27. Moravicsik, M. E. (1972) Reason and Eros in the Ascent Passage of the Symposium Sternberg, R. J. (1998) Cupid’s Arrow: the Course of Love through Time Nussbaum, M. C. (2001) The Fragility of Goodness. Updated edit Tannahil, R. (1989) Sex in History. London: Sphere. Nygren, A. (1982) Agape and Eros. Trans. P. S. Watson. O’Connor, E. (1991) Introduction. In: On Homosexuality: Lysis, Phaedrus, and Symposium Plato (1937) Phaedrus. In: Dialogues of Plato. Trans. B. Vlastos, G. (1973) The Individual as Object of Love in Plato Her e-mail address is lydamir@colman.ac.il Plato (1941) The Republic of Plato Plato (1951) The Symposium. Trans. W. Hamilton. New York: Penguin Books. Plato (1961) Laws. In: The Collected Dialogues of Plato, (eds) E Plato (1991) On Homosexuality: Lysis, Phaedrus, and Symposium Reik, T. (1944) A Psychologist Looks at Love. New York: Farrar & Rinehart. Rougemont D., de (1983) Love in the Western World. Trans. Russell, B. (1930) The Conquest of Happiness. London: Allen & Unwin. Schopenhauer, A. (1969) The World as Will and Representation Singer, I. (1956) (ed.) Essays in Literary Criticism by George Santayana Singer, I. (1984-7) The Nature of Love. 3 vols: vol. 1: Plato to Luther (1984), vol The Modern World (1987). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.