The World's Best Book Summaries
What is Thomas Hobbes known for? How did Hobbes’ views influence modern-day moral philosophy? Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who lived during the 17th century and who exerted a significant influence on modern philosophy. According to Thomas Hobbes, human nature is essentially cruel and selfish, and the only way to subdue humanity’s evil impulses is through power. Here’s how Hobbes’ philosophy influenced modern-day societal order.
What is the “Ladder of Love” in Plato’s Symposium? What are the six steps of Diotima’s Ladder? What kind of love does each step represent? Diotima’s Ladder of Love is a metaphor for different types of love that originated in Plato’s Symposium. It conceptualizes love in terms of progressive stages or steps: The higher the steps, the higher and the more sophisticated one’s love is. Keep reading to learn about Diotima’s Ladder of Love.
What is human nature in philosophy? Are humans benevolent or evil by their nature? In philosophy, human nature has been debated extensively. Some philosophers argue that humans are naturally deceitful and cruel, seemingly with a lot of evidence to back us up: Throughout history, groups of humans have gone to war, committed genocide, and owned slaves. But despite our history of evil, humans are fundamentally good. Here’s why the basic nature of humankind is inherently good, according to historian Rutger Bregman.
What does Diotima say about love in Plato’s Symposium? How does her concept of love relate to beauty? In Plato’s Symposium, Diotima’s speech centers on the human experience of love rather than its purpose or benefits. She concludes that the main object of love is not beauty. Rather, it’s goodness. However, she argues that beauty is integral to a good life and introduces the concept of the “ascent”—a process of learning to appreciate beauty in all its forms. In this article, we’ll explore Diotima’s views on love by explaining what humans love, why humans love, and how humans should love.
What is love? How does love connect to philosophy? How can it lead to human happiness? The ancient Greek philosopher Plato addresses these questions and more in his Symposium, a work which claims that passionate desire, rather than cold and detached analysis, drives philosophy. Symposium also provides insight into Plato’s views on happiness, education, and reproduction. Below is a brief overview of Plato’s Symposium on love.
What is David Deutsch’s book The Beginning of Infinity about? What are the main takeaways of the book? In The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch makes a counterargument to the belief that there is a finite amount of knowledge in the universe. Deutsch rejects the idea that humanity will someday know everything there is to know. Read below for a brief overview of The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch.
What is Earth’s place in the universe? How big is the universe? Is our planet significant? The late astronomer and scientist Carl Sagan described Earth’s place in the universe—both physically and significantly. He paints a picture of just how vast the universe is and how inconsequential our blue-green planet is. Here’s why humans should be humbled by the size of the universe.
What is love, according to Plato’s Symposium? How does each of the Symposium speakers define love? Plato’s Symposium is a fourth-hand account of a philosophical dialogue that takes place between characters from fourth century BCE Athens at a party. Each character gives a speech, attempting to answer the question “What is love?” Let’s examine the main arguments of each speech regarding the nature of love.
Where does knowledge come from? Why does Deutsch believe knowledge comes from guessing? The book The Beginning of Infinity says that knowledge is infinite and people are responsible for finding it. But there are still different theories on how we gain such knowledge. Below we’ll go through the different theories on where knowledge comes from and why we should stay open-minded about knowledge.
What does Agathon say about love in Plato’s Symposium? Why does Socrates disagree with Agathon? In Symposium, Agathon’s speech centers on Eros, the god of love, endowing him with three characteristics: Eros is beloved, Eros is an artist, and Eros is good. Socrates, however, disagrees with Agathon, arguing that Eros is a lover rather than a beloved. Let’s examine the main ideas of Agathon’s description of Eros, as well as Socrates’s rebuttal and alternative description.