The Ladder of Love: Plato's Symposium

What is love? What is beauty? Should all beauty be viewed equally? Is there a process we can take to better understand beauty? In Plato's Symposium, the character of Diotima explains to Socrates a Ladder of Love which starts with the contemplation of physical beauty in one individual and then moves up towards the form of beauty itself. The ladder of love shows Plato's thoughts regarding a progressive contemplation of beauty in which not all beauty is treated equally, although each contemplation of beauty is important as they are steps towards the contemplation of the form of beauty.