This book represents nothing more than an attempt to read the Symposium in its entirety: to read it deeply, carefully and thoughtfully. It is the story of the rise and fall of Hellenic culture and it is also an account of living impulsion that constitutes human life itself: the complex interplay of two opposing sides seeking wholeness and finding it, ultimately, an intensely problematic fulfillment. An essential element in hearing this story turns out to be the apprehension of the way in which it resists "doctrine"óand so provides the most effective possible introduction to "philosophy."
