Why Socrates proposes “recollection” and how to prove it

1021 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The theory of recollection plato

In this paper, I will investigate the reason Socrates proposes “recollection” and the way he proves it. My conclusion is the reason Socrates proposes “recollection” is trying to help Meno understand how to explain virtue, and shows Meno how to prove it. He asks one of Meno’s slave geometry questions to prove that our souls have all the knowledge we need to solve problems. Which means when we are answering questions, we are recollecting the knowledge inside our souls.
First, Socrates talks about some creeds he heard from different religions (Meno, 71). The meaning of the poem I believe is due to some mistakes we perpetrated, the punishment for us is to go through a series of reincarnation. In the meantime, if we behave very reverent, the Persephone will reward us. Prior to this, we have to spend nine years in the underworld, if we perform piously, she will send us to the sun after nine years, to become a monarch, an athlete or a saint, then have lifelong glories of hero. In other words, soul is immortal and reincarnation, therefore, we must live as piously as possible.
Later, Socrates says “Then if the truth about reality is always in our soul, the soul would be immortal so that you should always confidently try to seek out and recollect what you do not know at present—that is, what you do not recollect?” (Meno, 78) Socrates infers “we should piously live” from “soul is immortal”, but here, he infers “we should take the initiative to recall” form “soul is immortal”. Therefore, I assert recollection means to be pious. Through recollection, we can get rid of the pain of reincarnation and get reward from gods.
In conclusion, even piety and recollection are not identical, piety is a form of knowledge, and recollection is a stage of res...

... middle of paper ...

... himself. I believe Socrates wants us to concern the difference between the ideas which are listened, and the result of self-thinking. Meanwhile, this learning process of geometry resonates with the slave’s own experience, reminds him of something he already knows.
Socrates’s dialogue with the slave (Meno, 77-78) shows the derivation of proof. This dialogue consists two main views: 1 if the slave continues along this path of investigation, he will acquire knowledge; 2 in this practice, he will discover his own knowledge exits within him. After confirm the slave’s answers are from his own. I believe Socrates proves we can acquire knowledge and access to knowledge due to we potentially have it. Socrates want to explore how to solve problems through the theory of recollections, as he admits potential knowledge is that our investigation must proceed from this knowledge.

Show More
Related

  • Plato Meno's Paradox

    1579 Words  | 4 Pages

    Seeing as both Socrates and himself do not know what virtue is, Meno declares that they are unable to recognize or even discover it. After that Socrates refutes by stating the theory of recollection, and the immortality of the soul. Since Socrates believes that a soul is immortal, any knowledge can be recollected, which is what the theory of recollection is. He proves this through Meno’s slave, who had no prior learning of math or geometry. Through a series of questions, the slave boy is able to determine all of the lengths of the squares that Socrates draws, which explains to Meno that virtue can be recollected if they take enough time to find the

    Read More

  • Meno's Paradox

    2022 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ox could be proved wrong then he has demonstrated his point very well. This would mean accepting the `minimal sense' of the recollection theory - as Vlastos puts is, that demonstrative knowledge is independent of sense-experience, thus establishing that there can be non-empirical knowledge, but not that all knowledge is non-empirical. However, if in his demonstration, Socrates meant to show that Meno's paradox is completely wrong, and that the recollection theory applies to all forms of knowledge i.e. that all knowledge is non-empirical, which is the `full-strength' doctrine, then he was wrong. Thus we must conclude that the recollection theory is an answer to Meno's paradox, but by no means solves it entirely. Irwin writes that `to resolve Meno's paradox Socrates need only suggest that one have an initial belief about the object of inquiry rather than knowledge.'

    Read More

  • Four Arguments For The World Of Life In Plato's Phaedo

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book Plato 's Phaedo, Socrates argues that the soul will continue to exist, and that it will go on to a better place. The argument begins on the day of Socrates execution with the question of whether it is good or bad to die. In other words, he is arguing that the soul is immortal and indestructible. This argument is contrary to Cebes and Simmias beliefs who argue that even the soul is long lasting, it is not immortal and it is destroyed when the body dies. This paper is going to focus on Socrates four arguments for the soul 's immortality. The four arguments are the Opposite argument, the theory of recollection, the affinity argument, and the argument from form of life. As the body is mortal and is subject to physical death, the soul

    Read More

  • Plato's Doctrine of Recollection

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    The 'doctrine of recollection' states that all true knowledge exists implicitly within us, and can be brought to consciousness - made explicit - by recollection. Using the Platonic concepts of 'Forms', 'particulars', 'knowledge' and 'true opinion', this essay explains what can or cannot be recollected, why all knowledge is based on recollection, and why the doctrine does not prove the soul to be immortal.

    Read More

  • The Trail Of Socrates And The Apology Of Plato

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    During this essay, the trail of Socrates found in the Apology of Plato will be reviewed. What will be looked at during this review is how well Socrates rebuts the charges made against him. We will also talk about if Socrates made the right decision to not escape prison with Crito. Socrates was a very intelligent man; this is why this review is so critical. In Plato’s Apology, it seems that overall Socrates did an effective job using the 3 acts of the mind.

    Read More

  • The Immortalityality Of The Soul In The Meno

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the problems in his argument is how he believes the soul cannot be taught anything because it knows all and just recollects prior knowledge, but then argues that virtue is a kind of knowledge and it can be taught. (Plato, 87c) This implies that Socrates believes that virtue can be taught to the soul and it’s not something that we are born with. His principal argument of the theory of recollection, tied with immortality of the soul contradicts his other idea that virtue can be taught since it is knowledge. This causes Socrates’ argument to become very questionable, and as a result, can create the following questions; How can virtue be taught to the soul if it’s supposed to know everything? If the soul actually knew everything, then it would know what virtue is. If it does not know everything, especially what virtue is, then does that imply that the soul is not immortal? Socrates agrees, in the beginning, with an idea that he heard wise people talk about in regards to the immortality of the soul. The idea is that the soul is immortal and can, at times, reborn but never destroyed. (Plato, 81b) When relating this idea to Socrates’ argument that the soul is eternal, therefore all knowing, and has been born multiple times, wouldn’t it have been able to know what virtue is, implying that it is part of our knowledge and it is something that we are all born with?

    Read More

  • The Recollection Theory Of Death

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Recollection Theory is an argument Socrates brought up many times before. This theory is evidence that souls have existed before this current life. Cebes describes this theory in Phaedo as Socrates has described it many times before, “we recollect now we must have learned at some time before; which is impossible unless our souls existed some-where before they entered the human shape. So in that way too it seems likely that the soul is immortal” (Plato 137). When we learn something “new”

    Read More

  • Meno's Paradox

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    It has seen many things including all the forms and the knowledge of them all. We cannot search for what we do not know but we can search for what we have forgotten. Socrates’s theory of recollection has two problems. The first one is that the theory repeats itself without giving a conclusion. We do not know what virtue is, however, we can recollect it because our souls have knowledge about it.

    Read More

  • Democritus, And Socrates: The Existence Of The Human Soul

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    A person’s body can change in appearance numerous times throughout his or her life, but who they are essentially does not change along with the outward appearance. He claims ownership of his body, and he uses his body, but his body is not the self, the soul is the self—the soul is in possession of the body. Socrates seems to agree to an extent with Democritus on the morality of the soul, to the extent that a soul can be good or vicious. Living well or living badly are all matters of the soul. If one wants to have a good soul then he or she should not place too much emphasis on external goods, and should focus on having areté of the soul instead. Areté consists of what we typically associate with good people; it is virtue, excellence, and being the best one can be. Socrates asserts that when one dies there are two possibilities; either you become nothing and unaware, or your soul goes on to an afterlife somewhere else. In death, when the soul separates from the temporary body, it goes into the afterlife exactly as it was in life. Meaning, if the soul has been taken care of during life then it will continue to be a healthy, happy soul in death. However, if it were neglected because the person placed too much importance on external goods during life, which causes damage, it will enter the afterlife as the same damaged soul it was in life. He seems to be saying that the people who typically only seek out the external goods are the ones with vicious souls, and that they think that they can compensate for the state of their soul by acquiring all of these external things. However, Socrates says that there is no hope for vicious souls; if a person has a vicious soul he or she has a damaged self, and there are no external goods or benefits that can compensate for

    Read More

  • The Theory Of Recollection By Socrates

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Phaedo Socrates claims that the soul is indeed immortal, that it lives forever and cannot die even after the body has died, thus philosophers spend their lives devaluing themselves from their body. Socrates presents the Theory of Recollection to persuade his fellow philosophers that have convened inside his cell that the soul is immortal. In essence, the recollection argument refers to the act of learning, because the soul is immortal, according to Socrates, then this suggests that when a person is learning something they are actually relearning it, because their soul has existed before they were born. This idea of recollecting knowledge is prominent and is the most convincing argument in proving the existence of immortality through the soul, however, this argument does not suggest that the soul continues to exist after death and lacks clarity regarding what truly happens after a person dies.

    Read More

  • The Doctrine of Recollection

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Socrates’ Doctrine of Recollection is invalid because of the flawed procedure that was employed to prove it, its inability to apply to all types of knowledge, and the weakness of the premises that it is based on.

    Read More

  • Socrates Arguments On Immortality

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates was a philosopher who was true to his word and his death was ultimately felt by his closest friends and followers. In Phaedo, Socrates is met with his closest friends during his final hours as they await his death. At this point Socrates is prepared for death and seems to welcome it. Although death may seem like a scary inevitable fate that we all must face at one point; Socrates saw death as a privilege mainly because he believed that the soul was immortal. As a result, Socrates provides arguments as to why he believed the soul was immortal and even though all his arguments lacked unconvincing evidence, he does bring up good points. In this paper I will talk about Socrates’ most and least convincing arguments on immortality, and explain what Socrates’ problem was with Anaxagoras.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Nietzche's Twilight Of The Idols

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    ​In the reading, it explains that Socrates is wealthy, educated, has a high status and honored, but Socrates believes all of it is worthless, harmful and damaging to the soul. The soul is all that matters because it is eternal. When he was on death row, he didn’t really fight to save his life. He knows his potential and is refusing to take control and live up to it. He truly doesn't care whether he dies and is willing to throw hi...

    Read More

  • Plato's Arguments for Proving the Inmortality and Longevity of the Soul

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    Phaedo was set in a prison. While in prison, Socrates contemplated whether or not there is an afterlife and whether or not the soul can survive death. He explains that we discuss the soul because it applies to all humans; it’s more personal, closer to us than the nature of being. Socrates adds that he doesn’t fear death because it means fearing your soul. You shouldn’t fear the unknown, but embrace it. Furthermore, he comes to the conclusion that the soul is immortal based on the following 3 arguments.

    Read More

  • The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... when he is discussing the unexamined life. When Socrates mentions the oracle, he is explaining how one can believe he knows all but still can question life. Although he believes that a smarter man will not be found, Socrates still questions and examines the life he leads. This is the basic concept of philosophy, to try to examine and understand what is going on in life. Socrates understands that without this questioning, there would be no philosophy or a worthwhile life. (Plato 25)

    Read More

More about Why Socrates proposes “recollection” and how to prove it

Open Document