What are the confused or less integrated conceptions of the relations between these three spheres that Plato entertains on his path towards the final conception?
Plato’s Republic treats eros as a dangerous but important part of the philosopher’s soul. Similarly in the Phaedrus, Socrates shows eros to be a divine madness that a philosopher’s soul must be able to control. In a pederastic relationship, eros arises in those who have managed to glimpse true Beauty while traveling through heaven. A boy’s beauty triggers the memory of this ideal Beauty. The soul consequently yearns to approach the boy. When this yearning is controlled modestly, the man will have fulfilled his part of the Platonic relationship and contributed to the well-being of his soul. Such is the condition of any beholder of beauty who controls his desires for the sake of his soul.
