Humanities C1001-014: Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy
Prof. Eileen Gillooly
PROTOCOLS
#19: The Symposium
Written by Pedro Rivero and edited by Julia Galef
Diotima delivers the most enlightened speech on
love. It is unexpected that a woman
would be the most enlightened in this context, because women were not regarded
as being intelligent or wise as men in Greek society. Plato uses Diotima in this way because his idea of knowledge
implies that it comes as an epiphany:
when and how one least expects it.
There are two reasons for Diotima to refer to children in her speech about knowledge. The first is because, as she mentions, knowledge is like a child that needs to be nurtured and continually sustained. The second refers to the idea of continuity through children and knowledge. Children, like knowledge, change from generation to generation. But, both are the heritage that we as humans leave behind.
Irony does not convey meaning directly; we understand irony much as we pursue knowledge: by engagement with ideas indirectly or partially expressed. The meaning of irony is implicit, not explicit. The only way to acquire knowledge is through a process of engagement. Knowledge cannot be passed to a person by mere contact or if it is instilled: knowledge does not flow, like water, easily from one to another, as Socrates notes.
Alcibiades is torn between philosophy (“real
truth”) and politics (“illusion”). He
is obsessed by Socrates’ knowledge and wants to acquire it through physical
contact admittedly, but he is too lazy to undertake the long and arduous
process of acquisition of knowledge.
Alcibiades comes to Agathon’s to crown him for his triumph in the drama
contest, but he ends up crowning Socrates as well.
Alcibiades is a slave to his passions; he
indulges himself often and lacks self-discipline. Since knowledge is a process of engagement, Alcibiades chooses
the side of politics because the side of philosophy is too difficult for
him. He suffers because of his ability
to obtain political wisdom, and he tries to persuade Socrates to pass him his
knowledge through a sexual relationship, which of course, cannot be done. The awareness that he cannot possess
Socrates, or Socrates’ knowledge, causes Alcibiades to be in a state of
“Bacchic frenzy” whenever Socrates speaks.
This makes Socrates resemble Dionysus, the god that creates a state of
“ekstasis” of humans, literally, to be beside oneself.
GENESIS
There is much thematic continuity our Greek
texts and our Biblical ones. “Metis”, for example, is a quality of character that is emphasized
in both cultures. In the Hebrew
culture, we are presented with several instances where women show their
craftiness or cleverness. Both Abraham and Isaac trick King Abimelech
into thinking that their wives (Sarah and Rabekah) are in fact their
sisters. God then proves that these are
his chosen people by defending their wives before Abimelech has lain with them
and returns them to their husbands. Rebekah tricks her husband Isaac into
blessing Jacob instead of Esau by dressing Jacob up with a sheep’s skin to
mimic Esau’s hairiness. “Hubris”
(trying to be like gods), another characteristic seen in Greek texts, can also
be seen in the Genesis. For example,
when Adam and Eve wish to possess knowledge like God has, they ignore His
command and eat of the fruit.
There are important differences between these cultures as well. One of these differences is that the Biblical God is unique (monotheistic culture, not polytheistic). The Hebrew God gives “kleos” and claims it for Himself; it is not acquired through great actions done by humans. Another significant difference between these cultures is that the biologically significant parent for the son is the woman, not the man, since Jewishness is passed from a mother to her children.
The Bible is much harder to read and to
interpret than the Greek texts because it confounds many different literary
strategies to which we are accustomed.
Also, the text does not make cause and effect obvious. In other words, it is very hard to establish
causality for the events, to say definitively, “A happened and then B happened,
therefore A caused B.” Another reason
for the Bible to be hard to understand is that, in the Bible, there is no linear
concept of time and the evidence is fragmentary and sometimes
contradictory.
Unlike the Hellenistic gods, the Hebrew God is
often inscrutable, this often causes the interpretations, both literary and
religious, to disagree. Biblical
Scholars believe that the Bible is a compilation of stories that have been
passed on through word of mouth, which explains why some stories differ. A clear example of this is seen in the first
two chapters, where two different stories are given about the creation. This is evidence that different stories
about creation were in circulation at the time that Genesis was written down.
The text of the Bible
makes constant use of repetition in language and theme, but adds variation each
time the same theme or wording is used.
One idea that emerges from the pattern of repetition and variation is
that God seems in some sense to be learning about humanity over time as
humanity learns of Him, and to be coming to accept human imperfections. It is important to note that the
relationship between God and men as presented in the Bible, is very suggestive
of the relationship between parents and children. A pattern is quickly established regarding interactions between
God and man:
God creates – Man sins – God punishes man but also blesses Man and gives
him a new
law to follow.
The Hebrew God does not create out of
nothing. He creates by creating order
out of chaos. In other words, by
separating (Hebrew: de-bar), e.g. light
from dark, water from earth. These two
principles of creation come in play in the story of the Tower of Babel, where
man, speaking one language, tries to undo the separation between heaven and
earth. God reacts by causing division
in speech among humanity, dividing them into ethnoi.
The beginning of Genesis relates how humans
were created like animals; they did not know the difference between right and
wrong. The eating of the fruit from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil makes man lose his innocence. The story of the Garden of Eden is an
etiological tale that narrates how evil came into the world. The disobedience of Adam and Eve leads to
the understanding of their wrongful doing, i.e. guilt. Moral knowledge is what distinguishes them
from the other beasts of the Earth.
After they are kicked out of paradise they become mortal and experience
pain and suffering.
Chapters 2.15 and 3.2 accentuate the importance
women bringing evil into the world. Eve
does not hear the law from God but from Adam.
She, like us, is forced to interpret the command for herself. For
instance, she was told not to eat of the fruit, but she seems to extrapolate
from this command that she is not even to touch the fruit. For this reason, scholars sometimes refer to
Eve as the first Rabbi. Lie God when
creating, Eve “saw that [the fruit]” was good.
Hence the female is shown as a more intelligent being than the
male. The story of Eve functions as the
Biblical version of the etiology of woman’s subordination in a patriarchal
world. Chapter 3.16 presents and
explains the sexual danger historically associated with women and the reasons
why women cannot be polygamists.
God kicks Adam and Eve out of paradise but
blesses them as well, and they go east.
The people trying to build the tower of Babel first migrate west, as if
trying to return to Eden. They build
the Tower and are confused by God. In
Chapter 9.15 God establishes his covenant with Noah, who is the eldest survivor
of the flood. Chapter 10 establishes
Noah’s descendants. Noah marks the end
of the primeval histories. There are 10
generations between Adam and Noah and 10 generations between Noah and Abraham.
The genealogies are important for such information. They show history, ancestry, and link the
different stories to the ongoing, historical promise of the covenant. The next time the covenant is mentioned is
in the context of Abraham. Here the
covenant becomes specific to Abraham and his descendants. It promises a special relationship with God,
numerous descendants, and the “promised” land.