Platonic love (often lowercased as platonic love) is a type of
love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
in which
sexual desire
Sexual desire is an emotion and motivational state characterized by an interest in sexual objects or activities, or by a drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities. It is an aspect of sexuality, which varies significantly ...
or
romantic features are nonexistent or has been suppressed or sublimated, but it means more than simple
friendship
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague.
In some cultures, the concept o ...
.
The term is derived from the name of
Greek philosopher
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empire ...
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
, though the philosopher never used the term himself. Platonic love, as devised by Plato, concerns rising through levels of closeness to wisdom and true beauty, from carnal attraction to individual bodies to attraction to souls, and eventually, union with the truth.
Platonic love is contrasted with
romantic love
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Ency ...
.
Classical philosophical interpretation
Platonic love is examined in Plato's dialogue, the ''
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
'', which has as its topic the subject of love, or more generally the subject of
Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
. It explains the possibilities of how the feeling of love began and how it has evolved, both sexually and non-sexually, and defines genuine platonic love as inspiring a person's mind and soul and directing their attention towards spiritual matters. Of particular importance is the speech of
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
, who attributes to the prophet
Diotima an idea of platonic love as a means of ascent to contemplation of the divine, an ascent known as the "Ladder of Love". For Diotima and Plato generally, the most correct use of love of human beings is to direct one's mind to love of
divinity
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine< ...](_blank)
. Socrates defines love based on separate classifications of pregnancy (to bear offspring); pregnancy of the body, pregnancy of the soul, and direct connection to existence. Pregnancy of the body results in human children. Pregnancy of the soul, the next step in the process, produces "
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
"—which is the soul (truth) translating itself into material form.
[Rojcewicz, R. (1997). Platonic love: dasein's urge toward being. ''Research in Phenomenology'', ''27''(1), 103.] "... virtue for the Greeks means self-sameness ... in Plato's terms, Being or idea."(106)
Eros
Pausanias, in Plato's ''Symposium'' (181b–182a), defines two types of the love known as "Eros": vulgar Eros, or earthly love, and divine Eros, or
divine love
Love of God can mean either love for God or love by God. Love for God (''philotheia'') is associated with the concepts of worship, and devotions towards God.
The Greek term ''theophilia'' means the love or favour of God, and ''theophilos'' mean ...
. Pausanias defines vulgar Eros as material attraction towards a person's beauty for the purposes of physical pleasure and reproduction, and divine Eros as starting from physical attraction but transcending gradually to love for supreme beauty, placed on a similar level to the divine. This concept of divine Eros was later transformed into the term "platonic love".
Vulgar Eros and divine Eros were both considered to be connected, and part of the same continuous process of pursuing perfection of one's being,
with the purpose of mending one's human nature and eventually reaching a point of unity where there is no longer an aspiration or need to change.
"Eros is ... a moment of transcendence ... in so far as the other can never be possessed without being annihilated in its status as the other, at which point both desire and transcendence would cease ... (84)[Miller, P. A. (2013). Duras and platonic love: The erotics of substitution. ''Comparatist'', ''37''83-104.]
Eros as a god
In the ''Symposium'', Eros is discussed as a Greek god—more specifically, the king of the gods, with each guest of the party giving a eulogy in praise of Eros.
[Benardete, S. (1986). ''Plato's Symposium.'' Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. .]
Virtue
Virtue, according to Greek
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, is the concept of how closely reality and material form equates good, positive, or benevolent. This can be seen as a form of
linguistic relativity
The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis , the Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, is a principle suggesting that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view, worldview or cognition, and ...
.
Some modern authors' perception of the terms "virtue" and "good" as they are translated into English from the ''Symposium'' are a good indicator of this misunderstanding. In the following quote, the author simplifies the idea of virtue as simply what is "good".
"... what is good is beautiful, and what is beautiful is good ..."[Herrmann, F. (2013). Dynamics of vision in Plato's thought. ''Helios'', ''40''(1/2), 281-307.]
Ladder of Love
The Ladder of Love is a metaphor that relates each step toward Being as consecutive rungs of a ladder. Each step closer to the truth further distances love from beauty of the body toward love that is more focused on wisdom and the essence of beauty.
The ladder starts with carnal attraction of body for body, progressing to a love for body and soul. Eventually, in time, with consequent steps up the ladder, the idea of beauty is eventually no longer connected with a body, but entirely united with Being itself.
" ..decent human beings must be gratified, as well as those that are not as yet decent, so that they might become more decent; and the love of the decent must be preserved." (187d, 17) - Eryximachus' "completion" of Pausanias' speech on Eros
Tragedy and comedy
Plato's ''Symposium'' defines two extremes in the process of platonic love; the entirely carnal and the entirely ethereal. These two extremes of love are seen by the Greeks in terms of tragedy and comedy. According to Diotima in her discussion with Socrates, for anyone to achieve the final rung in the Ladder of Love, they would essentially transcend the body and rise to immortality—gaining direct access to Being. Such a form of love is impossible for a mortal to achieve.
What Plato describes as "pregnancy of the body" is entirely carnal and seeks pleasure and beauty in bodily form only. This is the type of love, that, according to Socrates, is practiced by animals.
"Now, if both these portraits of love, the tragic and the comic, are exaggerations, then we could say that the genuine portrayal of Platonic love is the one that lies between them. The love described as the one practiced by those who are pregnant according to the soul, who partake of both the realm of beings and the realm of Being, who grasp Being indirectly, through the mediation of beings, would be a love that Socrates could practice."
= Tragedy
=
Diotima considers the carnal limitation of human beings to the pregnancy of the body to be a form of tragedy, as it separates someone from the pursuit of truth. One would be forever limited to beauty of the body, never being able to access the true essence of beauty.
= Comedy
=
Diotima considers the idea of a mortal having direct access to Being to be a comic situation simply because of the impossibility of it. The offspring of true virtue would essentially lead to a mortal achieving immortality.
Historical views of platonic love
In the Middle Ages, new interest in the works of Plato, his philosophy and his view of love became more popular, spurred on by
Georgios Gemistos Plethon during the Councils of Ferrara and Firenze in 1438–1439. Later in 1469,
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...
put forward a theory of neo-platonic love, in which he defined love as a personal ability of an individual, which guides their soul towards cosmic processes, lofty spiritual goals and heavenly ideas. The first use of the modern sense of platonic love is considered to be by Ficino in one of his letters.
Though Plato's discussions of love originally centered on relationships which were sexual between members of the same sex, scholar Todd Reeser studies how the meaning of platonic love in Plato's original sense underwent a transformation during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, leading to the contemporary sense of nonsexual
heterosexual
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
love.
The English term "platonic" dates back to
William Davenant
Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned b ...
's ''
The Platonick Lovers
''The Platonick Lovers'' is a Caroline era stage play which blends the genres of tragicomedy, satire, and comedy of manners. It was written by Sir William Davenant and first printed in 1636. The play can be regarded as one of the more subtle and ...
'', performed in 1635, a critique of the philosophy of platonic love which was popular at
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
's court. The play was derived from the concept in Plato's ''Symposium'' of a person's love for the idea of good, which he considered to lie at the root of all virtue and truth. For a brief period, platonic love was a fashionable subject at the English royal court, especially in the circle around Queen
Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...
, the wife of King Charles I. Platonic love was the theme of some of the courtly
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
s performed in the
Caroline era
The Caroline era is the period in English and Scottish history named for the 24-year reign of Charles I (1625–1649). The term is derived from ''Carolus'', the Latin for Charles. The Caroline era followed the Jacobean era, the reign of Charles's ...
, though the fashion for this soon waned under pressures of social and political change.
Seven types of love
Throughout these eras, platonic love was slowly categorized into seven different classical definitions. These were:
*
Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
: sexual or passionate love, or a modern perspective of romantic love.
*
Philia
''Philia'' (; ), is one of the four ancient Greek words for love: ''philia'', '' storge'', ''agape'' and ''eros''. In Aristotle's ''Nicomachean Ethics'', philia is usually translated as "friendship" or affection. The complete opposite is ca ...
: the love of friendship or goodwill, often met with mutual benefits that can also be formed by companionship, dependability, and trust.
*
Storge: the love found between parents and children, often a unilateral love.
*
Agape
In Christianity, agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love ...
: the universal love, consisting of love for strangers, nature, or God.
*
Ludus
Ludus may refer to:
* ''Ludus'' (ancient Rome) (plural ''ludi''), several meanings around "play, game, sport, training"
**''Ludi'', public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people
* Luduș, a town in Transylvania, Romania
...
: playful and uncommitted love, intended for fun with no resulting consequences.
*
Pragma: love founded on duty and reason, and one's longer-term interests.
*
Philautia
Self-love, defined as "love of self" or "regard for one's own happiness or advantage", has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness, synonymous with amour-propre, conceitedness, eg ...
: self-love, both healthy or unhealthy; unhealthy if one places oneself above the gods (to the point of
hubris), and healthy if it is used to build self-esteem and confidence.
Despite the variety and number of definitions, the different distinctions between types of love were not considered concrete and mutually exclusive, and were often considered to blend into one another at certain points.
Modern interpretations
Definition
"Platonic love in its modern popular sense is an affectionate relationship into which the sexual element does not enter, especially in cases where one might easily assume otherwise." "Platonic lovers function to underscore a supportive role where the friend sees
heirduty as the provision of advice, encouragement, and comfort to the other person ... and do not entail exclusivity."
Complications
One of the complications of platonic love lies within the persistence of the use of the title itself "platonic love" versus the use of "friend". It is the use of the word
love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
that directs us towards a deeper relationship than the scope of a normal
friendship
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague.
In some cultures, the concept o ...
.
Queerplatonic love
Some in the
aromantic and
asexual communities, within the broader
LGBT community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...
, have coined the term "queerplatonic" to refer to formal
intimate relationships
An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...
between
significant other
The term significant other (SO) has different uses in psychology and in colloquial language. Colloquially, "significant other" is used as a gender-neutral term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming ...
s that do not involve romance.
Queerplatonic feelings are often described, like romance, as involving a deeper and more profound emotional connection than friendship.
Julie Sondra Decker writes that queerplatonic love often "looks indistinguishable from romance when outside the equation", but should not be "assigned a romantic status if participants say it is not romantic". She also notes that it can also be misread by observers as close friendship in circumstances where overtly romantic gestures are socially expected. For Decker, the essence of queerplatonic attraction is its ambiguous position in relation to normative categories: she writes that QPR "is a platonic relationship, but it is '
queered' in some way—not friends, not romantic partners, but something else".
See also
![Plato i sin akademi, av Carl Johan Wahlbom (ur Svenska Familj-Journalen)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Plato_i_sin_akademi%2C_av_Carl_Johan_Wahlbom_%28ur_Svenska_Familj-Journalen%29.png)
*
Attraction
*
Casual dating
Casual dating or a casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have casual sex or a near- sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting the additional commitments of a more formal ro ...
*
Childhood sweetheart
Childhood sweetheart is a reciprocating phrase for a relationship (but not a partnership) between young persons. This may come about by an extension of friendship, physical attraction or develop from natural affinity.
The relationship is usually ...
*
Emotional affair
The term emotional affair describes a type of relationship between people. The term often describes a bond between two people that mimics or matches the closeness and emotional intimacy of a romantic relationship while not being physically cons ...
*
Fraternization
Fraternization (from Latin ''frater'', brother) is "to become brothers" by conducting social relations with people who are actually unrelated and/or of a different class (especially those with whom one works) as if they were siblings, family memb ...
*
Greek love
''Greek love'' is a term originally used by classicists to describe the primarily homoerotic customs, practices, and attitudes of the ancient Greeks. It was frequently used as a euphemism for homosexuality and pederasty. The phrase is a produc ...
*
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
*
Heterosociality
In sociology, heterosociality describes social relations with persons of the opposite sex or a preference for such relations, often excluding relationships of a romantic and sexual nature. The opposite of heterosociality is homosociality.
At an ...
*
Infatuation
Infatuation or being smitten is the state of being carried away by an unreasoned passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong romantic feelings. Psychologist Frank D. Cox says that infatuation can be distinguished ...
*
Interpersonal attraction
Interpersonal attraction as a part of social psychology is the study of the attraction between people which leads to the development of platonic or romantic relationships. It is distinct from perceptions such as physical attractiveness, and invo ...
*
Interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish a number of personal and relational goals.
Inter ...
*
Puppy love
Puppy love, also known as a crush, is an informal term for feelings of romantic love, often felt during childhood and early adolescence. It is an infatuation usually developed by someone's looks and attractiveness at first sight. Such feelings f ...
*
Queerplatonic relationship
Queerplatonic relationships (QPR) and queerplatonic partnerships (QPP) are committed intimate relationships which are not romantic in nature. They may differ from usual close friendships by having more explicit commitment, validation, status, str ...
*
Relationship anarchy
Relationship anarchy (sometimes abbreviated RA) is the application of anarchist principles to intimate relationships. Its values include autonomy, anti-hierarchical practices, anti-normativity, and community interdependence. RA is explicitly an ...
*
Romantic friendship
A romantic friendship, passionate friendship, or affectionate friendship is a very close but typically non-sexual relationship between friends, often involving a degree of physical closeness beyond that which is common in contemporary Western ...
*
Soulmate
A soulmate is a person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve similarity, love, romance, platonic relationships, comfort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, compatibility and trust.
Defini ...
*
Work spouse Historically, "work spouse" is a phrase, mostly in American English, referring to a co-worker,: "They are platonic, close, opposite-sex couplings, with no romantic strings attached"; "A recent workplace survey found that 32 percent of workers say th ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
* K. Sharpe, ''Criticism and Compliment.'' Cambridge, 1987, ch. 2.
* T. Reeser, ''Setting Plato Straight: Translating Platonic Sexuality in the Renaissance.'' Chicago, 2015.
* Burton, N., MD (25 June 2016)
These Are the 7 Types of Love.''Psychology Today.'' Retrieved 3 May 2018.
* Messman, S. J., Hause, D. J., & Hause, K. S. (2000). "Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity, and the Use of Maintenance Strategies in Opposite-Sex Friendships." ''Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,'' 17 (1), 67–94.
* Mish, F. C. (Ed.). (1993). ''Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary: Tenth Edition.'' Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. .
* Rojcewicz, R. (1997). "Platonic love: dasein's urge toward being." ''Research in Phenomenology,'' 27 (1), 103.
* Miller, P. A. (2013). "Duras and platonic love: The erotics of substitution." ''Comparatist'', 37 83–104.
* Benardete, S. (1986). ''Plato's Symposium.'' Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. .
* Herrmann, F. (2013). "Dynamics of vision in Plato's thought." ''Helios'', 40 (1/2), 281–307.
External links
Plato on Friendship and Eros–
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. Eac ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platonic Love
Friendship
Love
Non-sexuality
Philosophy of love