Lovers or Friends: What’s Better for You? | Plato’s Phaedrus (Speech of Lysias)

Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus starts out with Socrates running into his friend Phaedrus who just heard a speech on lovers. Specifically, he heard a speech from the orator Lysias which argues in favor of non-lovers as opposed to lovers.
Lysias has 4 main points as to why a non-lover is better for someone than a lover: First, lovers do act favorably for you only in hopes that a romance will blossom. Kind words and favors are given only in pursuit of a relationship. Friends on the other hand give favors voluntarily without hope for some future goal. Secondly, there are more non-lovers to choose from in the world than there are those who love you. Thirdly, lovers can get jealous and restrict your social life while non-lovers generally don’t care. Finally, lovers will flood you with compliments and avoid critiques which might hinder your honest growth. #philosophy #plato #phaedrus