ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

A LIFE OF LOVE
Philosophy 2101 Sec. 3
Eric Duncan April 18, 2016
1242 Words
Does living a life of love lead to a life of virtue? This is an important question for the individual that
wishes to live a virtuous life. How is one to obtain a life of virtue? If one believes a life of love leads
to this virtuous life, then they would be compelled to seek a life of love. If someone is only seeking a
life of love, will this lead them to a life of virtue as a result? I believe that more people willfully
pursue a life of love as opposed to a virtuous life. If this leads to a virtuous life, we can say that the
result of a virtuous life is the consequence of living a life of love. In the next paragraphs I will
briefly define what is meant by a, 'life of love' and a 'virtuous life.' I will also argue that living a life of
love does lead to a life of virtue, just a Phaedrus does in Plato's Symposium.
A life a love, I will define as truly loving the people that are in your life, throughout your life. This
includes family members, friends and significant others. Virtue is defined as 1) a morally good
behavior or character 2) a good and moral quality (Merriam-Webster). To be a person of virtue is to
conform to a standard of right and morality. To live a virtuous life means to be a person of virtue
throughout your lifetime.
In The Symposium, Phaedrus argues that love brings out the best in the lover. The lover in question is
truly in love with his or her beloved and would sacrifice themselves in order to save them. This, in and
of itself is considered an act of virtue. This is a perfect example of how love can lead to an act of
virtue.
Phaedrus explains that the lover does not want to appear in a bad or negative light to the beloved. To
do so would bring shame upon the lover. This will motivate the lover to emulate good and virtuous
people and act rightly, while creating contempt for bad, cowardly and shameful actions or behaviors.
The lover does not want to do or say anything that will diminish his or her image in the eyes of the

beloved. This motivation can lead to great and noble deeds by the lover. In this ancient Greek culture,
cowardice was considered a despicable trait that was loathed by the society as a whole.
Ultimately, it is love that motivates us to live a virtuous and noble life. Even more so than wealth,
family or honor, Phaedrus argues. I am sure we can all think of an example of how wealth can lead to
virtuous actions. And, surely there is no question that honor and family can lead to a virtuous life. But,
love is the greatest motivator of all these, more powerful than wealth. Even family and honor are not
as great a motivator as true love.
Upon receiving reciprocation and praise from the beloved, the lover's motivation is intensified. The
lover now desires to maintain and even improve upon his or her image with the beloved. This leads to
repeated and consistent virtuous actions and eventually to a constant mindset of thinking and acting
virtuously toward and around the beloved. The lover, according to Phaedrus, will sacrifice himself or
herself for his or her beloved. Thus, the lover will change any actions or habits that the beloved might
think are unbecoming, inappropriate or not virtuous. Note that in some cases, the beloved may insist
that this is the case.
There are some that might raise objections to this claim and say that it is not worth the heartache
brought on by love and that bad results are not uncommon as a result of love. There are other avenues
and motivations that can lead us to virtue, it is not worth risking a painful heartache in its pursuit.
From this point of view, love is for the birds.
I believe that despite the negative outcomes and the hardships love can bring about, it can still lead to
a virtuous and good life and thus the pursuit of love is worth the endeavor. The positive results of
loving others and the satisfaction of living a good and virtuous life far outweigh any negative effects
brought about by love or by the consequences of a loving relationship.
Another objection is that there are many people in love that do not live a virtuous life. How can you
say that living a 'life of love' leads to a 'virtuous life' if this is not always the case? Not every lover is a
virtuous person. If a life of love leads to a virtuous life, why is it not true in every case and how do you

know it is true in any case?

It is true, not all lovers are considered virtuous people. However, I do believe that all lovers do
virtuous acts and try to behave virtuously toward their beloved. It becomes a question of how virtuous
the lover is, in my opinion. I believe that the lover is a more virtuous person than they would be if they
were not in love. So, even if they are not considered a virtuous person, they are more virtuous than
they would be otherwise. I stand by my argument that a life of love leads to a (more) virtuous life,
more so than the same life without love.
Virtue is not something that an exact measurement can be placed on. That is to say, that it is a relative
or a somewhat ambiguous term. There are no doubt different degrees and levels of virtue, but you will
be hard pressed to find a way to gauge a person's virtue. Some will argue that a person has led a life of
love but they are not a virtuous person. This argument is flawed because there is no control group or
set mark of virtue to judge a person by. I will argue that the person in question is leading more of a
virtuous life than they would be if they were not a lover. Thus, my argument still holds. Living a life
of love leads to a life of virtue, even if it is only a life of more virtue. However daunting a life of love
may seem to some, the reward of a virtuous and good life make it worth living!
In this, the concluding part of my essay, I will summarize my argument and positions on it. In
general, I have stated that living a life of love will also lead one to live a virtuous life. I have discussed
parts of Phaedrus' speech from Plato's Symposium, in which he makes the same argument. I have
considered objections to the argument and given rebuttals to them. We considered heartache and the
negative effects of love, and determined that the positives of living a life of love, out weighed the
negatives. We have also discussed and considered ambiguity in virtue. I have conceded that not all
lovers are virtuous people. However, by the same token, I have concluded that all lovers are more
virtuous people than they would be if they were not lovers and that some people can become truly
virtuous by following a path of love.