Book · 2003 · Philosophy
The Symposium
- mentions
- 3
- people
- 3
- podcasts
- 3
- episodes
- 3
- recommendation
- 1
George Eliot's Middlemarch, Plato's Symposium books on love that give you that make you begin to think more than just about kind of the super...
The best things said about it
That opens me up. I now go out into — and that just keeps happening. And it's been happening since I first read The Republic, since I first read The Symposium.
And so you have this shared basis of learning, but it’s amazing to see the fruits that arise from that, because they just go back to the dorm and they’re all kind of wondering what was going on in Plato’s Symposium, because it’s a really strange text in so many ways.
Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
Why people recommend it
The Symposium by Plato is a foundational philosophical text consisting of a dramatic dinner party dialogue centered on the nature, origin, and various manifestations of love. On Honestly with Bari Weiss, Shilo Brooks recommended the book alongside George Eliot's Middlemarch, noting that such works provoke deep, transformative reflection on human emotion rather than superficial engagement. The text's ability to inspire passionate intellectual curiosity was further highlighted on Interesting Times, where Jennifer Frey described how students would return to their dorms eagerly debating the strange and captivating arguments presented by Plato. Additionally, John Vervaeke mentioned the work on The Tim Ferriss Show, placing it alongside The Republic as a text that profoundly opened his mind and catalyzed a lifelong journey toward wisdom and contemplation. Readers and scholars consistently recommend the book because it offers a timeless, multifaceted exploration of human desire and philosophical inquiry that continues to challenge and expand the modern mind.
Every mention
Shilo Brooks George Eliot's Middlemarch, Plato's Symposium books on love that give you that make you begin to think more… 1
“George Eliot's Middlemarch, Plato's Symposium books on love that give you that make you begin to think more than just about kind of the super...”
Jennifer Frey And so you have this shared basis of learning, but it’s amazing to see the fruits that arise from that, bec… 1
“And so you have this shared basis of learning, but it’s amazing to see the fruits that arise from that, because they just go back to the dorm and they’re all kind of wondering what was going on in Plato’s Symposium, because it’s a really strange text in so many ways.”
John Vervaeke That opens me up. I now go out into — and that just keeps happening. And it's been happening since I first… 1
“That opens me up. I now go out into — and that just keeps happening. And it's been happening since I first read The Republic, since I first read The Symposium.”
