Platons Gastmahl

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCEProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.5

Word count: 128K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Platons Gastmahl by PlatoAuthor: Plato, 427? BCE-347? BCE,Language: German, Class: BD: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Speculative Philosophy, General Philosophical works, Release Date: Mar 23, 2008

Editor's review

This is an electronic edition of a German translation of Plato's Symposium, a public-domain edition of a classic Western philosophical text. The work unfolds through a series of speeches on eros, touching on love and beauty, human and divine, body and soul; the teaching of Diotima recounted by Socrates is often seen as a key entry point for understanding Plato's theory of Forms. The German translation gives German-language readers direct access to the texture of the original and facilitates comparison with the Greek text or other translations. The book suits philosophy students, classics researchers, and advanced readers interested in Plato's thought, and can be used for classroom discussion, thematic reading, or translation comparison. Readers should grasp the dialogue's structure and the progression of the speeches, and note how different speakers define eros, in order to appreciate the text's dramatic quality and intellectual tension.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of philosophy and classics researchers
Advanced readers with some grounding in Plato who wish to engage the primary text more deeply
Readers who need a German translation for translation comparison or classroom discussion

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no philosophical reading experience seeking light reading
Readers who cannot read German and have no intention of using a parallel translation
Readers who want only a plot summary and are unwilling to follow the arguments closely

Reading tips

First map the order of speakers and their respective views, then return to close-read key passages.
Focus on the section where Socrates recounts Diotima's teaching and understand its place within the book's structure.
Read alongside translations in other languages, noting how differences in terminology affect understanding.
After reading, try restating the core arguments of each speech in your own words to test your grasp.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read this book without a philosophy background?

You can try, but the barrier is fairly high. The work consists of multiple speeches with arguments that build step by step, and without background knowledge it is easy to lose the thread. It is advisable to first learn the basic form of a Platonic dialogue and the Socratic method, then read with notes or an introduction, which makes it easier to enter the text.

Which readers is the German translation suited to?

It suits philosophy and classics readers with German reading ability, as well as researchers who need a German translation for comparison with the Greek original or other translations. If your German is limited, you can first use a reliable Chinese or English translation to understand the content, then consult the German translation for language and terminology.

What should I focus on while reading?

It is worth noting how each speech defines eros differently and how they progress, with particular attention to the place and function of Socrates' account of Diotima's teaching within the whole. Also appreciate the dialogue's dramatic structure and character arrangement; these formal elements support the philosophical arguments and should not be treated as mere scaffolding for extracting conclusions.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCE Author

Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Reliable details of his life are limited in public sources, and his thought and writings are generally known through later accounts. The library holds 65 of his works, including the multi-volume Republic (Πολιτεία), the Symposium, and the Phaedo. These works are mostly dialogues with Socrates as the central figure, unfolding through question and answer around justice, the governance of the city, love, the soul, and knowledge, combining philosophical inquiry with dramatic literary form. The Republic, which discusses the ideal city and justice, is especially influential. Plato's style is marked by analogy, argument, and open-ended conclusions, and he has had a lasting influence on later Western philosophy and political thought.