When a person attracts us and awakens great admiration in us, we usually think of someone far away. Sometimes, it may be a celebrity who appears in the media, a university professor, an artist, or perhaps someone passing through town. The phrase “he is my platonic love” is more than well known when we refer to the type of relationship that could arise with a man or woman who produces a great attraction for us.
However, the origin of this concept is not current since it comes from distant periods in history. In this way, do we know what we are talking about when we refer to this? Knowing the emergence of this theme can allow us to think about the ideas regarding love and beauty that are around today. If this sounds interesting to you, it may be useful for you to read these lines. In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about What is platonic love and its characteristics.
What is platonic love according to Plato
The meaning of platonic love is not equivalent to the concept of love as we know it today. Platonic love, according to Plato, has the characteristic of being an idealized bond with another person in which there is no type of sexual contact. In other words, there is a predominance of fantasies over real situations that could occur.
In turn, this causes the idealized person to be understood as a perfect, non-existent being. In short, this type of love can hardly materialize in reality. Furthermore, it is a type of love based on the virtues of the other person and not on their own interests. This means that here the deepest knowledge of the person takes importance over the physical and material conditions that may exist.
What is the origin of platonic love
First of all, when we emphasize platonic love according to Plato, we are talking about a love based on beauty. Consequently, finding beauty in another person produces platonic love as conceptualized by the philosopher.
However, we must understand that there are different types of beauty according to Plato that correspond to different levels that the person goes through in the process of falling in love:
- Body beauty: here love appears directed towards the appreciation of a beautiful body.
- Beauty of souls: after the first stage that concerns the aesthetic part, it is possible that the idealization of the loved person is related to the knowledge of the culture and the way in which they resolve situations according to their moral conception.
- Beauty of wisdom: This third type of beauty lies in the focus on the intelligence and ideals of the idealized person.
- Beauty in itself: here the concept of love is detached from any person who can embody the characteristic idealization of platonic love. In this section, beauty does not correspond to an impossible love, but rather to ideals of perfection.
Characteristics of platonic love
As mentioned in the previous sections, it is important to distinguish platonic love from the idea of love that circulates within a society. Following these considerations, we will locate the most relevant characteristics of platonic love:
- Impossible and unrealizable: the ideal of perfection that is placed on the loved person means that a love with these qualities cannot exist. The reason for this is that there is no perfect person since there will always be some aspect that can cause displeasure in reality.
- Intellectual: In this type of love, beauty is mainly commanded by the admiration of the intelligence of the loved one.
- Fantastic: In line with the previous point, the ideal of perfection is sustained through the preponderance of fantasies about the loved person.
- Not sexual: Sexual relations do not belong to the concept of platonic love since that would mean putting aside fantasies to move on to a real encounter. If this happened, it would stop being a platonic love.
- Unrequited: despite the persistence of feelings of admiration towards the person, they do not respond in the same way to the situation.
- Illusory: In parallel with fantasies, the illusion that love will be reciprocated at some point in life allows platonic love to last over time due to the pregnancy of the imagination.
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Bibliography
Carranza Merchán, DM (2007). An approach to the doctrine of love in Plato: between the Lysis and the Symposium. Pontifical Javeriana University. Faculty of Philosophy.
Güemes, E. (2012). The Symposium, by Plato. Nova Tellus Magazine, 30 (2), 191-211.