Comparing Meno And Socrates

In the Meno, Meno initiates a paradox, suggesting that inquiry is a waste of time since learning is impossible. Meno and Socrates had been discussing whether virtue is teachable or if it is just something in nature. After many failed attempts to come to a conclusion, Meno presents his paradoxical conclusion that learning is impossible, and without learning, there is no inquiry. Socrates has dedicated his life to inquiry and develops his theory of recollection as a way to defend inquiry and preserve his life long work. In the Meno, Socrates argues that knowledge is never learned; it is just recollected. In this paper, I will argue, contra Socrates, that knowledge does, in fact, require learning. In a joint state of perplexity over whether virtue …show more content…
He believes the soul is immortal, so it is reborn again and again but is never destroyed. Therefore, the soul has seen things both in the known world and the underworld. There is no knowledge it has not learned. Every time a soul is reborn, it must recollect the knowledge it gained prior to being reborn. While a man thinks he is learning, he is really recalling knowledge his soul already has, so recollection is the human process of searching and learning (81b-d). Socrates proves his theory of recollection by asking Meno’s attendant questions meant to show that the attendant already possessed the knowledge and was simply recalling it. The conclusion of this experiment is that at the beginning, the attendant did not know anything, and by the end, he had gained knowledge. Socrates believed it was impossible to acquire knowledge in that short time interval so the attendant must have already known the information (82b-85b). Socrates believes that he has not taught the attendant, but asked the right questions for the attendant to remember the information. The attendant’s answers were of his own opinions meaning he must have already had that knowledge and just needed to recall it. Socrates believes that any set of questions, phrased in any manner and in any order, would bring about the same knowledge, suggesting everyone’s soul carries the same knowledge. This theory provides a solution to Meno’s paradox because …show more content…
While I will concede that we are born with some kind of knowledge, there is still certain knowledge that people must learn. Recollection implies that each person is born with the same knowledge. If this were the case, then people should have no problem recollecting information. However, there are some concepts that some people easily conceive, while others can’t even fathom the idea. Take for example, a complex calculus problem. While mathematicians may be able to solve it easily, other disciplines might look at it and have no idea where to begin. If Socrates’ theory of recollection were true, then everyone should have the knowledge to solve this problem, but not everyone can. There will be some people that will never understand how to solve that one problem despite the questions they are asked. Socrates would refute that the person who did not understand was not being asked the right questions to recognize the knowledge and be able to recollect it. However, Socrates, in reference to the slave’s recollection, says, “if he (the slave) were repeatedly asked these same questions in various ways, you know that in the end his knowledge about these things would be as accurate as anyone’s” (85d). According to this account, any form or combination of questions should bring about the same result in everyone, and they should be able to understand in the same amount of time. Since this is not