Pausanian Classification or Socratic Participation
Theologizing the Plurality of Erotic Praxis in Plato’s Symposium
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16901889 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Krinks (0000-0001-5428-6516, Business in the Community, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 263 |
| Publication date | 2018-09-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel9090263 |
| OpenAlex | W2888821041 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Read theologically, Plato’s Symposium is an exercise in doxology: how Eros is to be praised. Pausanias observes that, since Eros is not one, a unitary praise will be inadequate. Proposing a focus on praxis, he classifies erotic praxes, and praises one, in a synthesis of contemporary convention, sophistic rationality, social responsibility and polytheistic fidelity. Against this Socrates praises erotic praxis as one of a plurality of desires mediating between mortals and an otherwise transcendent good. Desire which is specifically erotic involves a praxis of (pro)creation through attention to beauty. In this praxis mortals participate in immortality and the divine. Pausanias’ praise is seriously offered. However, lacking a participatory element, it delivers an underwhelming doxology, making Eros at best an instrument of a sophistically constructed virtue ethic to which his polytheism is ambiguously connected. It is the philosophical theology of Socrates, which, praising Eros as a mediator enabling participation in the divine realm, and offering itself as an analogous form of mediation, is able to be consummated liturgically
Aesthetics · Art · Beauty · Epistemology · Literature · Praise · Praxis · Rationality · SOCRATES · Socratic method · Virtue · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
Justice and Prudence
Genres in Dialogue
The Virtuous Life in Greek Ethics
Truth in Aquinas
Plato's Individuals
Love and Friendship in Plato and Aristotle
Plato and Erotic Reciprocity
Form and Argument in Late Plato
The Fire and the Sun
Plato's Symposium
Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion
Eros and Polis
Plato
Socratic Midwifery, Platonic Inspiration
Spiritual Pregnancy in Plato's Symposium
Cretan Eileithyia
K αλós in Acclamation
The Folly of Praise
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |