The Epistemological Principles of Love in Plato and Rumi, According to the Dialogues of Symposium, Phaedrus Theaetetus and Divan-i Shams

Love is a common theme of philosophy and mysticism. In Plato's view and in Rumi's considerations on love as well, love is known to be a source of divine intellect, all-perceiving power. In this paper, we compare the two views and highlight the similarities between them. In the genealogy of Rumi's thought and lived experience in the domain of love and the kind of general understanding governing his formulation of romantic concepts, it seems necessary to burrow into the historic-philosophical foundation of this kind of attitude. In this path, the shadow of Platonic thought as the origin of virtue-centered evaluation in the realm of love comes to fore. In this comparative approach of philosophy and mysticism to the phenomenon of love, the roles of sensory, rational, and intuitive knowledges are determined by and through Plato's dialectical method, which has been addressed in nine different dialogues including Phaedrus, Symposium,  Republic,  and  Theaetetus. Based on  these  discussions,  one   is encountered among Rumi's  lyric poetry with layers of epistemological argumentations, particularly in the Divan of Shams, which overlaps with Plato's epistemological view of knowledge and love. This indicates the influence of Plato's ontological and virtue-centered attitude on Rumi.