Socrates 'Midwife In Plato's Theaetetus'
In reading Plato’s Theaetetus, Socrates stresses throughout that he is like a midwife, meaning he helps his associates to gain knowledge through asking questions. He also claims, however, that he himself possesses no knowledge. As a result, he does not teach, but remains adamant in his claims that he is very important in the associates’ learning or relearning.
Socrates’ unique wisdom can be likened to that of a midwife, as stated in Theaetetus. In Meno, Socrates discusses the definition of virtue with the titular character. Socrates challenges Meno to define virtue, and Meno states that each demographic has a different virtue, for example, “a man’s virtue: to take part in the city’s affairs capably…”(Meno, 71e-72a) or “there is a different …show more content…
Socrates does not in fact tell his associates anything, but rather helps them understand ideas that were already in them through his series of questions that test whether what his associate says is of truth or not, and so he is not actually giving any knowledge. In the Meno, he shows an example of what he does when he attempts to “bring forth” geometry knowledge from a Greek slave boy. The boy answers some questions incorrectly at first before stating that he does not know. Socrates then continues to ask the boy more questions, and as the boy answers them, he comes to understand it without Socrates ever actually telling the boy anything at all. Socrates then states that “Then he will have knowledge without being taught by anyone but only questioned, since he will have recovered the knowledge from inside himself” (Meno, 85c-85d). He is saying that the boy is able to gain knowledge from Socrates asking him multiple questions about it constantly, and it will come forth within his associates, without him actually telling them anything at all. He also elaborates on this type of wisdom that he has in the Apology, saying “I thought this man seemed wise to many people, and especially to himself, but wasn’t. Then I tried to show him that he thought himself wise, but wasn’t.” (Apology, 21c-21e). Here, Socrates is stating that he has no knowledge, but rather questions the ideas of his associates to help them become more wise. This also showcases the type of wisdom that he does possess, which is knowing that he does not know
Socrates’ unique wisdom can be likened to that of a midwife, as stated in Theaetetus. In Meno, Socrates discusses the definition of virtue with the titular character. Socrates challenges Meno to define virtue, and Meno states that each demographic has a different virtue, for example, “a man’s virtue: to take part in the city’s affairs capably…”(Meno, 71e-72a) or “there is a different …show more content…
Socrates does not in fact tell his associates anything, but rather helps them understand ideas that were already in them through his series of questions that test whether what his associate says is of truth or not, and so he is not actually giving any knowledge. In the Meno, he shows an example of what he does when he attempts to “bring forth” geometry knowledge from a Greek slave boy. The boy answers some questions incorrectly at first before stating that he does not know. Socrates then continues to ask the boy more questions, and as the boy answers them, he comes to understand it without Socrates ever actually telling the boy anything at all. Socrates then states that “Then he will have knowledge without being taught by anyone but only questioned, since he will have recovered the knowledge from inside himself” (Meno, 85c-85d). He is saying that the boy is able to gain knowledge from Socrates asking him multiple questions about it constantly, and it will come forth within his associates, without him actually telling them anything at all. He also elaborates on this type of wisdom that he has in the Apology, saying “I thought this man seemed wise to many people, and especially to himself, but wasn’t. Then I tried to show him that he thought himself wise, but wasn’t.” (Apology, 21c-21e). Here, Socrates is stating that he has no knowledge, but rather questions the ideas of his associates to help them become more wise. This also showcases the type of wisdom that he does possess, which is knowing that he does not know