Erōs and logos: psychic intercourse and reproduction in Plato’s Phaedrus

What is the relation between ἔρως and λόγος in the Phaedrus? I explore the metaphor of psychic reproduction—often discussed in reference to other dialogues, such as the Symposium and Theaetetus—in the Phaedrus, extending it to include psychic intercourse and show how erotic love propels the lover toward, and induces recollection of, Beauty itself. This recollection of Beauty allows the lover to beget veridical philosophical discourse. In the erotic process, the lover first meets the beloved and, overcome by a memory of true Beauty that he cannot comprehend, experiences both wonder and ἀπορία. After courting the beloved and thereby repeatedly recollecting, the beloved becomes intimate with and comes to understand the abstract realm. Finally, having achieved a complete vision of the abstract realm, the lover develops a capacity for philosophic discourse and is able to beget speeches that track Truth itself. Ἔρως, therefore, is the necessary precursor to philosophic discourse because it both provides the propulsive desire that draws one toward the beautiful beloved and facilitates recollection of true Beauty, which, in turn, brings to light the innate knowledge possessed by the lover. Erotic recollection is, I argue, distincitve as a form of recollection because it does not require an intentional and systematic search for knowledge but comes all at once when the lover is “struck” by the beauty of the beloved (254b). The analysis brings into focus Plato’s take on the value of erotic desire in the philosophical life as both the driving force toward, and the visionary insight of, Beauty itself. Finally, I argue that Plato is advancing the view that direct acquaintance or intimacy with truth is the necessary foundation to a philosopher’s discursive understanding.