Socrates starts with asking Lysis about how his parents restrict him. They love him, but they prevent him from doing as he wants and desires. This is because they trust the experts above Lysis, at least for the moment. To get the best outcome we defer to those with expertise in all matters, such as health, ship piloting and so on. A common idea in the dialogues is that the worse should submit and learn from the better, maybe this is the perspective how Lysis restrictions by his family should be viewed from. The ideas in this first discussion does not seem to show picked up later on, is it to bring up the question to how trust to experts and trust to friends conflict?

Directionality of love in friendship. Do both love each other or just on the other? What about those who cannot love back like children and animals?

First the idea that friendship is the attraction of like to like is explored. But a bad person in the company of another bad person will make the other worse, which is not friendship. The bad cannot be friend with the bad which refutes the similarity attraction hypothesis. But good people can be friends peerhaps? But what can a good person offer another? A good person is self-sufficient and does not desire others, which means they do not desire friends and must be enemies to everyone. A silly conclusion.

Hesiod says that the similar are actually in conflict with each other, is it instead that the different are drawn to each other, like hot and cold? But the good and bad cannot go together. What about the neutral? The neutral can love the good and hate the bad. The body is declared neutral, and it loves health to ward off disease. Socrates brings up the distinction between loving a thing and loving the effect that comes with a thing. We love the effect of medicine, not medicine in itself. But can you love anything but effects then, is it possible to love a thing? Friendship is then the love of good. But what if the bad disappeared, without disease the body would have no love of health. You love what you lack.

But how does the love of lack theory address the directionality aspect brought up earlier? Is it a friendship only of both has something the other lacks?

Observations: Socrates says the body is neutral in this dialogue. In Phaedo I got the impression that the body is steadily corrupting the soul with desires and wants to distract it from the truth.

This dialogue and Charmides shows Socrates popularity with the young men and boys of Athens which is mentioned in Laches and Apology. As in Alcibiades and Charmides, Socrates fondness of beautiful boys is featured. This relationship between old and young men in Ancient Greece is complicated and debated.

It's said that all of Western philosophy can be summarized as footnotes of Plato. This dialogue shows that even pickup artistry as an art was founded by the great thinker. Socrates advices Hippothales on how to best charm and keep his lover. If you praise the one you love you end up magnifying your failure if you fail to catch them, and if you lose them the loss will be even sourer. You should keep your boyfriend down so that their confidence does not swell.

Socrates proclaims to value friendship and companions highly above material things. He would rather have a friend than all of Darius gold.