After hearing Agathon's views of love, Socrates relates his theory of love through a speech that was given to him by Diotima. In contrast to Agathon's view, which stated that love is for that of the young and the beautiful, Socrates gives a better understanding that is more of an evolutionary process. .
Socrates begins his speech by refuting what Agathon said, that love was a great god, and was a love of beautiful things. Rather love is neither beautiful, nor good. This statement arises somewhat of a gray area. If love is not beautiful, then is it ugly? That is obviously not the case, as when we thing of love we do not think of ugly and bad things, therefore there must be something in between good and bad, and beautiful and ugly. Socrates also uses the terminology of what is not wise is not ignorant, and there must be something in between, once again the gray area. By stating that someone who is not wise, is not necessarily ignorant, Diotima is able to make the claim that is associated with love.
Still Diotima recalls that all perceive love as being a great god, but how can those who do not perceive him as a god at all consider him a great god. For we just concluded that love is not beautiful, not good. In order to be a god, it must be true that he is beautiful, for all gods are beautiful and happy. All of those possessed by good and beautiful things are happy. However, since love does not possess beauty and good things, he pursues that which he does not have. For all living things pursue those favorable things with which they do not have. Since Socrates agreed that love does not possess good and beautiful things, he has claimed love to not be a god. At this point Diotima makes a reference back to the gray area that we have previously spoke of, since there must be something between the divine and the mortal. Love is not a god, and most certainly not mortal. So once again there must be something between the divine and mortal.
