The Poverty of Eros in Plato’s Symposium

Lorelle D. Lamascus is Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary’s University, USA.

1. Introduction
i. A Note on Interpretation
ii. Platonic Eros in the Early Part of the Twentieth Century
iii. Platonic Eros in the Mid- to Late-Twentieth Century
iv. The Response to the Charge of Egoism

2. Myth and Religion in the Interpretation of Eros in the Symposium
i. Mythology in the Symposium

3. The Development of the Concept of Poverty: From Deficiency to Abundance
i. The Importance of Poverty in the Symposium
ii. The Concept of Poverty

4. The Intermediacy of Eros
i. Eros, Desire, and Wish: Establishing the Intermediacy of Eros
ii. The Structure of Eros
iii. An Enquiry into the Senses of Intermediacy Applicable to Eros
iv. On the Diverse Ways of Being Intermediate

5. Metaphysics, Motion, and Morality
i. The Metaphysical Status of Eros as Intermediate
ii. The Use and Work of Eros as Intermediate

6. Poverty in the Ascent to the Vision of Beauty
i. The Structure of Socrates’ Discourse
ii. Eros, the Tripartite Soul, and Participation in Immortality

7. Katharsis and the Purification of Eros
i. The Concept of Katharsis in the Phaedo and the Sophist
ii. The Method of Katharsis
iii. Virtue and Katharsis
iv. Conclusion: The Purification of Eros

Bibliography

Index