Socrates: The Argument Of Recollection In Meno

In this paper I will explain and then critique Socrates’ claims in Plato’s Dialogues. First, I will analyze Socrates argument of recollection in Phaedo. Next, I will explain Socrates claim that the soul is immortal in Meno. Lastly, I will critique Socrates’ argument in Meno and explain why that critique does not apply to Phaedo.

In Phaedo, Socrates proposes his theory that all learning is recollection. Socrates believes that “to know is to acquire knowledge, keep it and not lose it”(Plato 114). This means that humans are always seeking knowledge and when they do lose it, the cycle begins again through learning by recollection. One way humans recollect is when they see one thing, it triggers the memory of another. Essentially Socrates is trying to say that “the sight of one thing makes you think of another”(Plato 112). The primary example Socrates uses is remembering a forgotten loved one. A person will notice something that prompts their mind to remember a forgotten memory. For example, if the loved one always smelt like lavender and honey and one day you smelt

The paradox of knowledge is as follows: “If you know what you’re looking for, inquiry is unnecessary. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, inquiry is impossible. Therefore, inquiry is either unnecessary or impossible.”(Cohen) Meno struggles with understanding this idea. This is then when Socrates presents his theory to Meno. Socrates begins his argument by claiming that the soul is immortal, “seen all things here and in the underworld”, and “there is nothing which it has not learned”(Plato 71) in the world. The soul knows everything and even when a person cannot immediately remember information, it can be recollected. Recollection occurs through an external stimulus, which acts as a trigger to a forgotten memory, or the relearning of