Plato's Symposium
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Plato's Symposium, one of the Greek philosopher's best-known works and an influential text about the nature of love.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Plato's Symposium, one of the Greek philosopher's most celebrated works. Written in the 4th century BC, it is a dialogue set at a dinner party attended by a number of prominent ancient Athenians, including the philosopher Socrates and the playwright Aristophanes. Each of the guests speaks of Eros, or erotic love. This fictional discussion of the nature of love, how and why it arises and what it means to be in love, has had a significant influence on later thinkers, and is the origin of the modern notion of Platonic love.
With:
Angie Hobbs
Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield
Richard Hunter
Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge
Frisbee Sheffield
Director of Studies in Philosophy at Christ's College, University of Cambridge.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
Last on
LINKS AND FURTHER READING
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READING LIST:
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Richard Hunter, Plato's Symposium (Oxford University Press, 2004)
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Richard Kraut (ed.), Cambridge Companion to Plato (Cambridge University Press, 1992), especially the chapter 鈥楶latonic Love鈥� by G.R.F. Ferrari
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J. Lesher, D. Nails and F. Sheffield (eds.), 笔濒补迟辞鈥檚 Symposium: Issues in Interpretation and Reception (Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University, 2006)
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Plato (trans. Christopher Gill), The Symposium (Penguin, 2003)
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Plato (ed. M. Howatson and F. Sheffield), The Symposium (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
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Plato (trans. A. Nehamas and P. Woodruff), Symposium (Hackett, 1989)
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Plato (trans. Robin Waterfield), Symposium (Oxford World's Classics, 2008)
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Gerald Press (ed.), The Continuum Companion to Plato (Bloomsbury, 2012), especially the chapters 鈥楾he Symposium鈥� and 鈥榃omen鈥� by Angie Hobbs
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Frisbee Sheffield, 笔濒补迟辞鈥檚 Symposium: The Ethics of Desire (Oxford University Press, 2009)
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W. H. Werkmeister (ed), Facets of 笔濒补迟辞鈥檚 Philosophy (Van Gorcum, 1976), especially 鈥楶latonic Love鈥� by L.A. Kosman
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Melvyn Bragg |
| Interviewed Guest | Angie Hobbs |
| Interviewed Guest | Richard L Hunter |
| Interviewed Guest | Frisbee Sheffield |
| Producer | Thomas Morris |
Broadcasts
- Thu 2 Jan 2014 09:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Thu 2 Jan 2014 21:30大象传媒 Radio 4
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