February 25 Class Notes

Sorry how late these are!

Story Tellers in Symposium:

1. Apollodorus/Aristodenus
2. Pheadrus
3. pansanius
4. Eryximadus
5. Arisophanes
6. Agathon
7. Socrates (Says his story is really Diotima's who is really a woman)
8. Alcibiedes

This was the mother of all bull sessions, and happens to be a secular version of "The Last Supper" where Jesus and his Disiples had supper before Jesus was killed

Socrates claims that Diotima said he was stupid and she wanted to educate him, and that is the story that he tells, the story that she told him.

Plato is more of an artist rather than a philosopher, because the story is five times removed, and makes us wonder about the stories factuality.

"A Rock, A Tree, A Cloud" is about the beauty withing, Soul vs. Surface. , which helps to explain why Acibiedes loves Socrates, because even though he is a gross looking old man, his mind, and his soul, are beautiful and and attractive. such as the Elephant Man

Anamnesis-

• Plato's theory that you right now know everything there is to know, however you just forgot it
• literally translated means "recollection"
• to greek's the worst flaw was to be ignorant

Stadial

- done in stages, like your education, and an example is the ladder

"The Man Who Fell to Earth"

• Was supposed to get water for his sick family
• Is distracted by the television, and forgets his purpose
• cautionary
• Link to Movie

Nosticism

• knowledge or religion
• world is a distraction
• it temptes us towards the vulgar
• we have a spark of knowledge and it glows everytime we find and follow our lifes purpose

"A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud,"

• Must love something small before you canmove up
• We start at the wrong end of love, with the climax
• Always say "Remeber This" ex Dido's Lament

Everything you do in life should be in remembrance of something

Our Birth is a Rmembering and Forgetting

Whenever we see something beautiful our shoulder blades itch, this is because we are remembering when we were able to fly around on wings of desire

Two loves:

• Phil, so a philosopher is a lover of wisdom
• Eros