Meno & Phaedo
Eternal Souls
One of the most important components of Plato's dialogue known as Meno was the elucidation of the concept of the theory of recollection. This theory is so eminent within this work partly due to the fact that Socrates would refer to this notion, and to others that were engendered due to thought and study on related to this subject, in subsequent dialogues, the likes of which include Phaedo.
The crux of Plato's argument about recollection and its importance in the discussion of virtue is that the soul has actually been bestowed with all of the knowledge that it will ever attain before a person is born. Therefore, all someone has to do to access this knowledge is to recall that which he or she already knows about the subject by gently prodding it out of him or her. The following quotation explicates this concept rather succinctly.
Socrates argues that this confirms something that he has heard from certain wise priests and priestesses -- that the soul is immortal and that at our birth we already possess all theoretical knowledge (he includes here not just mathematical theory but moral knowledge as well (J.M.C 59).
What is of importance in this quotation is the fact that the theory of recollection elucidates certain characteristics of the soul -- which Socrates posits and goes on to fully believe is immortal. The ramifications of this point will be manifold, as the enduring nature of the soul was one of the extreme points of contention at Socrates' trial: the outcome of which would condemn him to death.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the theory of recollection is based entirely on questioning. The Socratic method of instruction or learning is highly dependent upon questioning any way, but the philosopher is able to initially conceive of the notion of the theory of recollection…
Sample Source(s) Used
Works Cited
Nails, Debra. "Socrates." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2010. Web http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/socrates.
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