Eros and Aphrodite: Myths, Plato’s Philosophy
Eros and Aphrodite: Origins and Myths
Eros was born on the same day as the feast celebrating the birth of Aphrodite. At this event, Penia (Poverty) came to beg, and Poros (Resource), seeing her drunk, went to sleep. Penia lay down beside him, plotting to have a child by Poros. Thus, Eros was conceived, a product of a lack seeking to be satisfied through resources that have little to do with love.
Eros in Art and Literature
Eros is often represented as a naughty, mischievous child with a bow and arrow, the opposite of what Plato described. This image is based on a more Alexandrian period and is related to the Renaissance. Eros, armed with his bow (shaped like an upper lip), symbolizes the sweetness of love, which can sometimes turn to violence. Eros is sometimes represented blindfolded, implying that he shoots arrows blindly, leading to misunderstandings and disasters, uniting people who, for various reasons, should not be together.
Plato’s Philosophy of Love and Reality
If love is related to ecstasy, it is more perfect. The love related to vertigo is less perfect. The sensible world is part of the world of ideas. This appears (participation) in the style of “The Banquet,” which has no first-person account. It’s a story told by someone who was at the banquet, relating to participation. What actually happened is determined not directly but by what one person told another, and so on. One of the myths of Eros is that he is one of the oldest gods.
The Two Worlds and the Idea of Good
Plato connects two worlds. The foundation of all ideas for Plato is the idea of Good. It is an ontological, epistemological, and theological foundation. Ontological because it has to do with the being of entities; beings exist because of the idea of Good. Epistemological because knowledge is related to the idea of Good. It concerns the being of entities and the possibility of knowing. Teleological (telos meaning “end” in Greek) means that all things are made for a purpose, a final end. The teleological, in relation to the merits of ideas, is a foundation of sensible things.
Doxa and Eikasia
The sensible world is captured through doxa (opinion), which is variant and changing, offering little security. The corresponding state of mind is what Plato calls eikasia (imagination or conjecture). To the extent that we take shadows, images, or dreams for reality, we are in a state of eikasia. Every sensible thing attempts to emulate the idea of good, but imperfectly, because only the idea is perfect.
The Intelligible World
In the intelligible world, there is understanding and mathematical ideas, and above that, intelligence, which corresponds to the moral and metaphysical, to justice. Above all things, governing in the right way.
The idea of Good gives being to things; it is an ontological truth that makes things what they are. It is the ontological foundation of entities, and reality is not only ontological but also that towards which everything tends.
Plato’s Dualism: Sensible and Intelligible Worlds
For Plato, there are two worlds or orders of being: the sensible world and the world of ideas. There are two main modes of knowledge: doxa (opinion) and episteme (knowledge or science).
Ideas: Unique, identical to themselves, immutable, intemporal, necessary, participated, models, separate realities, perfect.
Sensible things: Multiple, contradictory, mutable, temporary, contingent, particular, participants, copies, imitations, dependent, phenomena, imperfect.
Pistis
Pistis refers to correct moral beliefs about who we should be with, but these beliefs are not accompanied by knowledge; they are blind. We are unable to give reasons for them; they are as imperfect as sensible things.