Plato's Lysis: on the Good as the End Desire

[@desfurria6232]

This one really reminds me of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", then the Enemy(sickness) and it's enemy(Doctor) with the friend(healthfulness). It sounds like an art that benefits because the friend is (healthfulness) and good friend I would imagine .

[@allaboutplatonism]

Yes, I imagine that healthfulness is a very good friend, both for the body and for the soul!

[@olivefontaine2562]

This is one of my favorite dialogues. It seems fun and playful on the surface but there is profound depth to the discussion, especially in the back half. I think Socrates leads Lysis so very close to platonic metaphysics. The problem would have been resolved if Lysis had said that the Good is loved for its own sake, not because of the presence of evil. But he could not find that answer (even after the 'ultimate friend' sequence!) By seeing good only as a curative to evil, it's usefulness becomes dependent on evil, which is not the right way of looking at things. I found Socrates' musings about what would happen if evil disappeared to be very interesting, and applicable to Plato's conception of the afterlife. There are different ideas about this in different dialogues. But in Lysis at least, they conclude that there could still be bodies, desires, and passions, even in the absence of evil, but they would not be harmful. I also liked the bit where he talks about the self-sufficiency of the good man. It's really just an aside here, but it's a concept with a lot of staying power. Later platonists and other writers have come up with similar thoughts.

[@allaboutplatonism]

Nice reflections!

[@MonosProsMonos]

U da Best

[@allaboutplatonism]

Thanks!

[@fraterzigmund]

This talk about "friendship" makes me feel similarly to when my mother refers to my same-sex fiance and domestic partner of 11 years as my "friend." I don't know any Greek so I can't really comment on what the translation actually says but it feels like someone is trying to keep gay people out of history.

[@allaboutplatonism]

For what it's worth, the ancient Greeks were far more open about homosexuality. I would suggest that the way to best appreciate this dialogue is by looking for parallels in metaphysics to the role of friendship/Likeness and to the Good.

[@CatastrophicDisease]

FFS not everything is a conspiracy to cover up gay relationships. Sometimes friends are friends, not everything needs to be sexualized. Also it’s hilarious that you’re choosing to make this point about the Ancient Greeks especially