Of all the speeches at the Symposium, Eryximachus's speech is perhaps the most difficult to understand. Looking at Eryximachus' initial, more scientific approach to love, whereby he views love as something that can be measured quantitatively, many find it difficult to accept the more abstract arguments of "universal" love. » which he asks later in his speech. . Thus, one may ask: why does Plato present such a striking, almost contradictory, set of arguments in Eryximachus' speech? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe initial portrait of Eryximachus shows him as a man of science. Early on in Eryximachus' speech, he begins with the statement: "I am sure that it is through medicine, my own area of ​​expertise, that I have realized how great and divine Love is. wonderful, and how its power extends to all of humanity. and divine life. These words designate a man clearly proud of his profession as a doctor. This “pride” in his profession then continues to manifest itself in his following arguments. As the statement shows: “Love is expressed not only in the emotional responses of human beings to beautiful people, but… in the bodily responses of all kinds of animals, in the plants that grow on the earth” , Eryximachus' pride in medicine is manifested. in his adherence to the belief that love can be seen, and therefore explained, in terms of medicine and science. This "scientific" view is supported by the fact that Eryximachus's statements imply that he believes that love is a quality that can be measured quantitatively. This is seen in his words “bodily responses” which support the idea that Eryximachus believes he can physically see and recognize the presence of love in all living things. Another important aspect of Eryximachus' speech is visible in the very nature of the speech itself. . Because Eryximachus's speech is so distinct from other speeches, it is clear that Plato is using this argument as a representation of a very specific way of viewing love. This tactic is seen in the fact that Eryximachus's speech uses a disproportionate number of personal pronouns – the words "I" and "my" – which supports the idea that Plato clearly wishes to distinguish Eryximachus's speech from that of of the other characters by showing readers that Eryximachus himself believes that his speech is unique compared to other speeches. Additionally, Eryximachus' first words, "This is what I think", also provide another layer of separation between his speech and other speeches by stating the obvious and asserting that what he is about to say about love is totally original. From the beginning, this separation between Eryximachus's speech and other speeches helps provide a clear view of how Eryximachus thinks, allowing readers to compare and contrast this reasoning with another in Eryximachus's following argument . Eryximachus' next argument describes very different reasoning from the previous argument. After discussing the quantitative aspects of love, Eryximachus advances a more abstract and philosophical argument, according to which love is a universal force. Eryximachus' statement: "When the elements I mentioned previously (hot and cold, dry and moist) are influenced by well-ordered Love, they are in harmony," provides insight into the idea that love is much more than just “love”. bodily response,” but rather a universal force that governs the balance between opposing forces. This..