38. Plato on Platonic Love

09/06/2025 1h 32min

Listen "38. Plato on Platonic Love"

Episode Synopsis

In this episode we unpack The Symposium by ancient Greek Philosopher Plato.This dialogue explores...* The Nature of Eros*The Human desire for immortality*The Guru Disciple RelationshipFree Pdf of The Symposium*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Guest: Kilaya Ciriello Author of: Socrates Guru: Plato's Spiritual Philosophy in Comparison with the Indian TraditionThe Fundamentalist Plato (blog/substack)Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Timestamps0:00:00 Introduction0:02:42 Fundamentalist Platonism0:06:15 The Tradition of The Symposium 0:09:15 Narrative Structure of The Symposium0:10:20 The Question of Plato’s Authorship0:15:35 The Speech of Phaedrus0:20:10 Historical Context of Pederastic Relationships Between Men and Boys0:24:31 The Speech of Pausanias0:28:18 The Speech of Eryximachus0:31:49 The Speech of Aristophanes0:38:10 The Speech of Agathon 0:39:46 The Flattery & Humility of Socrates0:43:25 The Significance of Diotima0:46:28 Socrates First Argument on Eros0:50:18 We Only Desire What we Lack0:53:07 Love as an Intermediary between humans and Gods0:57:43 The Pursuit of Immortality1:06:08 Love of “The Good”1:08:24 The Ladder of Love1:13:49 Pure Rationality1:16:24 Criticisms of The Ladder of Love1:18:42 The Entrance of Alcibiades  1:24:15 The Desire to Possess Another Person1:27:42 Resentment towards Those Who Highlight our Shortcomings 1:28:45 The Unlikely Chance one will succeed as a Philosopher1:31:29 Wrapping up