Plato is the most influential philosopher of all time, bar none. But, perhaps contrary to what one expects, all of his writings are in the form of dialogue. One of those dialogues recounts a symposium - an Athenian drinking party - in which Socrates and some of Athens' most famous men give speeches on eros, love. Why is this work on the LitHum syllabus, and what can we extrapolate from its often disagreeable comments? (Note: A PDF of the text translated by M.C. Howatson can be found here, courtesy of PhilArchive.)

Intro/Outro music by Cooper Cannell