In Plato’s work Meno, Socrates and Meno discuss the ability to learn. They argue that there is no true learning, only recollection and remembering topics. Meno’s Paradox is presented in this work and essentially states that there is no way for humankind to learn. I wholeheartedly disagree with Meno’s statement on the capability of acquiring new knowledge. In my paper, I will explain Meno’s Paradox and Socrates’s claim about recollection. I will then argue against Meno’s paradox and discuss my reasoning behind why I believe that it is very possible to gain new information on topics that was unknown before. Finally, I will also argue why I believe that gaining this information is not recollecting, but learning for the first time.
Meno’s Paradox …show more content…
Socrates has falsified all of the interpretations of the word that Meno provided him with and decides he wants to search, with Meno, for the true definition of the word. Socrates says to Meno, “So now I do not know what virtue is; perhaps you knew before you contacted me, but now you are certainly like one who does not know. Nevertheless, I want to examine and seek together with you what it may be” (Plato 70). In saying this, Socrates is admitting to Meno that he is unsure of what virtue means and, in fact, deciding that Meno does not know either. He asks Meno to join him in his pursuit of the true definition of the word, and in response, Meno presents his paradox. Meno replies by saying, “How will you look for it, Socrates, when you do not know at all what it is? How will you aim to search for something you do not know at all? If you should meet with it, how will you know that this is the thing you did not know?” (70). This statement essentially says that there is no true learning. The paradox presented by Meno has two aspects and they are that either you know something or you do not. Meno claims that if you know something, there is nothing more to learn and therefore inquiring new information on the
Meno’s Paradox …show more content…
Socrates has falsified all of the interpretations of the word that Meno provided him with and decides he wants to search, with Meno, for the true definition of the word. Socrates says to Meno, “So now I do not know what virtue is; perhaps you knew before you contacted me, but now you are certainly like one who does not know. Nevertheless, I want to examine and seek together with you what it may be” (Plato 70). In saying this, Socrates is admitting to Meno that he is unsure of what virtue means and, in fact, deciding that Meno does not know either. He asks Meno to join him in his pursuit of the true definition of the word, and in response, Meno presents his paradox. Meno replies by saying, “How will you look for it, Socrates, when you do not know at all what it is? How will you aim to search for something you do not know at all? If you should meet with it, how will you know that this is the thing you did not know?” (70). This statement essentially says that there is no true learning. The paradox presented by Meno has two aspects and they are that either you know something or you do not. Meno claims that if you know something, there is nothing more to learn and therefore inquiring new information on the