Love as Philosophy

The Greek word for philosophy — philosophia — literally means "love of wisdom." For Plato, this was not a metaphor. The desire that draws you to a beautiful person and the pull you feel toward truth are, he argued, the same longing: a reaching for something beyond yourself.

Diotima's Lesson

Socrates claimed the priestess Diotima taught him everything he knew about love — a striking detail, since a woman is the source of his wisdom in a male gathering. Her core lesson: love wants to give birth in beauty. We are drawn to beautiful people and ideas because they make us want to create, whether children, art, or wisdom that outlives us. Love reaches toward the eternal by leaving something lasting behind.