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TZID:Europe/London
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UID:54@prometheustrust.co.uk
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250722T194500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250722T211500
DTSTAMP:20250714T150300Z
URL:https://prometheustrust.co.uk/events/the-symposium-socrates-in-the-por
 ch-an-online-open-session/
SUMMARY:The Symposium: Socrates in the porch - an online open session
DESCRIPTION:The Symposium is one of Plato’s most influential dialogues: 
 its seven speeches made in praise of Love (Eros) during the festival of Di
 onysus take the reader through a series of deepening insights into the pow
 er which draws us to the great ocean of divine beauty and\, ultimately\, i
 ts source which works a magical transformation on the soul. But well befor
 e the speeches begin we have a curious episode that may be worth consideri
 ng\, since it is easy to pass it by without too much attention. The teller
  of the tale of the symposium says that when walking to  the party with S
 ocrates\, his companion fell into a quiet state of meditation in a nearby 
 porch and\, refusing to come into the hosts house until he had finished\, 
 he therefore arrive late to the gathering. What does Plato mean the reader
  to take from this seemingly unimportant aside?\n\nThe session is an oppor
 tunity to explore it and perhaps see it as a very important moment in the 
 path of Eros\, that all philosophically-minded seekers must take.\n\nWe wi
 ll use this paper as our starting point: Socrates in the Porch\n\nThese op
 en sessions usually run twice on the same day to accommodate different tim
 e zones- - see the link below. These sessions take particular topics or pa
 ssages from Plato and other writers in the tradition - these are open to a
 nyone interested\, and they attract a wide range of participants. We usual
 ly begin with a short 5 or 10 minute introduction to the subject in hand a
 nd (when appropriate) a reading of a short text: this leaves a good hour o
 r so to discuss the ideas which arise.\n\nThere are no fees payable. The T
 rust sees the Platonic tradition as a spiritual one: not only a guide for 
 the outer life\, but especially to be treasured for its assistance in the 
 cultivation of the inner self - the soul - for\, says Plato in the Timeau
 s\, “we are not terrestrial plants\, but blossoms of heaven.” We unde
 rstand the tradition to be profound and cohesive\, and one that repays the
  long-term effort required to truly embed oneself in it. Our approach is 
 not exclusive - we value other traditions for their insights - nor is it d
 ogmatic or an attempt to proselytise: however we are serious in our attemp
 ts to fathom the depths of the tradition\, to identify its foundations\, a
 nd where its teachings seem to run counter to accepted thinking to investi
 gate them thoroughly rather than rejecting them prematurely. Thus our poin
 t of focus is on the teachings of the tradition and most especially our ow
 n inner response to them.\n\nBy joining our studies you are making no comm
 itment beyond that of co-operating with us in our exploration of those tru
 ths which have inspired a company of men and women most luminous in their 
 understanding\, and unsparingly generous in their teaching.\n\nYou can reg
 ister for the UK timed session via zoom by clicking on the link above or h
 ere. It will display the time in your time zone. This session is at 19:45 
 BST.\n\nTo register for the Americas-timed session\, which starts at 19:30
  EDT\, please click here.
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CATEGORIES:Open session
LOCATION:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4C03vxxFSB62ylpwLRryqw
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TZID:Europe/London
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DTSTART:20250330T020000
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