features of Plato’s ethical theory
One of the essential features of Plato’s ethical theory is that it presents beauty as the central factor. To be more precise, Socrates insists that both physical and emotional beauty have the high power of awakening the soul. In the long run, it releases people from their bodily and spiritual impurities. Also, beauty results to love, and love makes people brave, and gift to every lover is courage. However, Socrates’ anamnesis has a robust and seductive factor, which leads people to fall in love with him instantly. As a result, participants implementing anamnesis should be keen and cautious.
Zadie Smith’s On Beauty demonstrates the claim that Socrates makes in The Symposium that beauty leads to love and learning. Beauty has significant effects on lovers; in that, beauty influences the respective lover into disdaining former ways and producing a more beautiful physical appearance and persona. According to Socrates, love instills braveness; in the long run, lover gains more courage and confidence. Love provides wisdom. The love between two people reconnects the first halves to make them one and heal the wound of human nature. All in all, Socrates insists that the primary purpose of love is to learn; it is the Great Spirit that connects the gods and human beings. As a result, love attracts the soul closer to beauty. In the long run, we come to realize what it means to be beautiful.
Despite the significance of The Symposium by Socrates, the novel contains cases of professors who develop sexual relations with their students, examples that might prompt us to be skeptical of Socrates and his seductive habits. Regarding Socrates,’ The Symposium over is the pursuit of wholeness: it reflects our desire to be complete again. However, according to Alcibiades, Socrates strategically presents himself as your lover, and before you know it, you’re in love with him yourself. As a result, the irony of Socratic persona is that it is very seductive. As a result, it calls for limits of anamnesis philosophy implementation. And this justifies why the novel calls out specific sections of the Socratic approach, by encouraging cautiousness and recognition of the dangers that are associated with Socrates’ approach to pedagogy.
Despite the cautiousness associated with The Symposium, I think that ultimately the novel aligns with a Socratic approach to love and learning. The core principles of Socrates insist that beauty leads to love and then to learning. That is, love leads to great bravery; as a result, lovers develop more courage and self-assurance. Love provides wise decisions and connects two people intending to make them one, thus healing the wound of human nature. All in all, love is the pursuit of wholeness, and it reflects our desire to be complete again.
The fact that lovers continuously want to appear beautiful has diverse impacts. In that, beauty usually leads to a mutual influence on lovers to look more attractive. In the long run, they could disdain the physical appearance and persona into one that is more suitable for their lovers. According to Socrates, love instills braveness; in the long run, lovers gain more courage and confidence. What is more, through a relationship, attachment creates a passionate connection between two people, heals the wound of human nature, and makes two people whole again. Despite the significance of The Symposium by Socrates, the novel contains cases of professors who develop sexual relations with their students, and the facts are a result of Socrates’ seductive presentation, which leads people to fall in love with him instantly. As a result, participants implementing anamnesis should be cautious with their alluring capabilities.