What we’re about
The Symposium is a community dedicated to exploring life's questions with use of various guiding texts. Since Plato, philosophy was considered a devotional activity, emerged from the mythic age, among lovers and inspired poets, casting light into their world with the aid of reason. Let us familiarize ourselves with the wisdom tradition, uncover new shapes of thought, and find the great freedom that comes from seeing the lifeworld of our connected selves.
By sharing together we create an open space for fresh insights, whether through ourselves or from others. It is through the light of our questions that we stay connected to the true, even as the depth of our ignorance is continually revealed. Yet as we cleanse the mirror, we find unique harmony between what is thought and spoken, for wisdom to usher in, and for the spirit of philosophical friendship to take hold.
Let us honor that space together.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Civilization and its Discontents, chapters 3 and 4Kapéj Coffee, Chicago, IL
In Chapters 3 and 4 of Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud continues to explore the conflict between the desire for individuality and the expectations of society. The vital tension between civilization and the individual, Freud writes, is grounded in the notion that humans have certain primitive, immutable instincts.
In chapter 3, Freud discusses happiness and unhappiness. He says that unhappiness can be caused by the “superior power of nature,” the limitations of the human body, and human relationships. He also remarks on the futility of trying to measure such an abstract concept as human happiness.
In chapter 4, Freud introduces what he sees as two types of love: sexual love and family love. The latter, he concludes, is an inhibited form of former. Freud thinks the family unit and union between a man and women is rooted in sexuality and basic needs.
Please read chapters three and four of Civilization and Its Discontents (*.pdf pages 30 – 51.) [The previous *.pdf was missing a couple of pages.] It may take 45 minutes to an hour to read.
YouTube is flooded with videos about this work, so if you find videos helpful, go check them out.
eNotes, a student and teacher educational website, has an entry for Civilization and Its Discontents with summary information and analysis about the work. I also came across a site called The Great Questions Foundation – it also has an entry for Civilization and Its Discontents.
We look forward to seeing you ...
- Plato's Lysis: On FriendshipKapéj Coffee, Chicago, IL
"I should greatly prefer a real friend to all the gold of Darius, or even to Darius himself."
The Lysis begins with Socrates encountering a youth on his way to the Lyceum who has been singing ridiculous songs and writing poems for a boy, Lysis, with whom he is madly in love. The youth asks Socrates the important question: “‘What advice can you give so that Lysis will like me?’”
Lysis is a dialogue about friendship — philia — but it also explores the eros ("erotic") for which Plato is famous. As usual in the shorter dialogues, Socrates asks a question — what is friendship? — and gets a series of dissatisfying answers.
Can only the good be a friend? Can the bad be friends? The like? The unlike?
The greek word "philia" is the root of philosophy (philo- sophy), which is love of wisdom. Astute readers will notice the role of the good in this dialogue. What is it to be a friend of wisdom?
Please read the dialogue in advance (about 19 pages) and we will discuss it together.
Assigned Reading:
• The Lysis (http://www.theosofie.be/A_PDF/Plato_Complete_Works.pdf) ( S. Lombardo translation beginning on page 687 of the pdf)
•http://books.ebooklibrary.org/members/penn_state_collection/psuecs/lysis.pdf or Here http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/lysis.html) (Jowett translation)
[AUDIO (https://librivox.org/lysis-by-plato/)]
OPTIONAL MEDIA:
• Philosophy By The Book podcast (http://philosophybythebook.libsyn.com/philosophy-by-the-book-episode-8-platos-lysis) - "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense"Kapéj Coffee, Chicago, IL
In On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense, Nietzsche argues that what we call "truth" is essentially a collection of metaphors, illusions, and conventions that humans have agreed upon to navigate reality. He describes language as a system of signs that do not correspond to any inherent or eternal truths but are instead useful fictions created for communication.
Nietzsche’s essay emphasizes a nonmoral perspective on truth. He challenges the common assumption that truth is inherently good or morally superior. Instead, he views truth as a pragmatic tool, detached from moral values. It is neither good nor bad but an invention that humans use to impose order and meaning.
The Internet Archive has both an online version and a downloadable version of the essay. Average reading time is around 30 minutes.
Articles I found online: “Nietzsche on Truth, Lies, the Power and Peril of Metaphor, and How We Use Language to Reveal and Conceal Reality,” The Marginalian; “A Simple Rhetorical Analysis: ‘On Truth and Lies…’,” The Poet’s Glass; and summaries of the essay from A Little Sense and Medium.
YouTube (of course) has lots of videos. And if you prefer to listen to the essay rather than read it, YouTube has a 40 minute audiobook for your listening pleasure.
We look forward to seeing you.
