Plato
All in One: Knowledge, Opinion, and Teaching
Phil-290-07
February 17, 2012
Knowledge and opinion essentially form the entire dialogue of Plato’s Meno. Throughout the dialogue Socrates and Meno are on the search for whether virtue can be taught. From Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue, the importance of understanding knowledge and opinion becomes evident. Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue results in three themes. These themes are the relationship of knowledge, opinion and the helpful importance of teaching. Understanding knowledge, opinion and teaching’s importance help create the understanding of why knowledge is beneficial and pursued in life.
Knowledge, according to Socrates, is recollection. Socrates shows this by saying,
As the whole of nature is akin, and the soul has learned everything, nothing prevents a man, after recalling one thing only—a process men call learning—discovering everything else for himself, if he is brave and does not tire of the search, for searching and learning are, as a whole, recollection (81d).
Teachers play a role in developing knowledge so it can become recallable. Today almost every person in this world in one way or another is schooled and taught things by a teacher. Years continue to go by with teachers playing an impact in almost everyone’s lives because they are benefiting people’s growth in knowledge. Teachers not only help us gain knowledge but even with things that cannot be taught, teachers can still play a role. In the Meno it is concluded that virtue is one of those things that cannot be taught. Teachers are also actually helpful in the pursuit of things that cannot be taught. Different ways teachers can help in the pursuit of knowledge of things that cannot be taught is by asking questions, or encouraging questions to be asked. What this allows is those to pursue knowledge faster and more successfully than they would in most cases alone. So
Phil-290-07
February 17, 2012
Knowledge and opinion essentially form the entire dialogue of Plato’s Meno. Throughout the dialogue Socrates and Meno are on the search for whether virtue can be taught. From Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue, the importance of understanding knowledge and opinion becomes evident. Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue results in three themes. These themes are the relationship of knowledge, opinion and the helpful importance of teaching. Understanding knowledge, opinion and teaching’s importance help create the understanding of why knowledge is beneficial and pursued in life.
Knowledge, according to Socrates, is recollection. Socrates shows this by saying,
As the whole of nature is akin, and the soul has learned everything, nothing prevents a man, after recalling one thing only—a process men call learning—discovering everything else for himself, if he is brave and does not tire of the search, for searching and learning are, as a whole, recollection (81d).
Teachers play a role in developing knowledge so it can become recallable. Today almost every person in this world in one way or another is schooled and taught things by a teacher. Years continue to go by with teachers playing an impact in almost everyone’s lives because they are benefiting people’s growth in knowledge. Teachers not only help us gain knowledge but even with things that cannot be taught, teachers can still play a role. In the Meno it is concluded that virtue is one of those things that cannot be taught. Teachers are also actually helpful in the pursuit of things that cannot be taught. Different ways teachers can help in the pursuit of knowledge of things that cannot be taught is by asking questions, or encouraging questions to be asked. What this allows is those to pursue knowledge faster and more successfully than they would in most cases alone. So