Analysis of Meno’s Question to Socrates

In Platos dialogue, Meno, Socrates is asked a paradoxical doubt about what virtue is by Meno. How will you wonder, Socrates, into that which you do not jockey? What will you put forth as the subject of enquiry? And if you materialise what you want, how will you ever greet that this is the thing which you did not know? Socrates retorts that if you already know what you atomic number 18 searching for, then you do not take a crap to search.Alternatively, if you do not know what you are looking for, the search is on that pointfore futile. However, Socrates attempts to explain to Meno why it is that he will be able to aline what virtue is by introducing the idea that knowledge is native in the case-by-case as it is passed on through the soul. When Meno de human beingsds proof of this concept, Socrates provides an example of a knuckle down boy using indwelling knowledge to calculate the length of a square needed to double its own area.This experiment shows Meno that virtue , along with other knowledge, evict indeed be discovered through the inherent knowledge in integritys soul, and only has to be remembered to constrain of use. When Meno proposes his argument to Socrates that a search for what you do not know is impossible, he is reasoning that if one does not know what it is they are trying to cause, one will never know if they have found it. Meno seeks to understand how an various(prenominal) can find new knowledge if they have no clue how to find it or how to comprehend the discovery of it.Socrates acknowledges Menos argument and states that man cannot enquire either about that which he knows, or about that which he does not know for if he knows, he has no need to enquire and if not, he cannot for he does not know the very subject about which he is to enquire (Meno, Plato). Meno believes that this proves his own argument, notwithstanding Socrates proposes an alternate way to nominate knowledge. Socrates speaks of priests and priestesses wh o say that the soul of man is immortal (Meno, Plato).Also, he says the soul has unplowed all the knowledge from previous lives that it has had, and therefore knowledge is obtained through callback instead of learning. Socrates attempts to prove his theory by providing an example with one of Menos slaves. His experiment is simple. Socrates calls over a slave boy and asks him about squares. The boy knows has some knowledge of the properties of squares including the fact that they have four equal military positions, they can be divided in half, and the area is equal to the side work out by the other side.However, when Socrates asks the boy to determine the length of a side necessary to double the area of a 22 root square, the boy mistakenly says 4 feet (which would yield a square 4 times too large). The slave proposes a length of three feet, nevertheless is wrong again. Here Socrates makes a note of the torpedos encounter (Meno, Plato) or aporia (Aporia, Burbules), which means th at the boy knows that he does not know.Socrates states that this state of chief is better than believing false knowledge, because one will know that there is knowledge to seek. Socrates maintains that throughout the experiment he was never teaching the slave, but only asking of his opinions. Therefore, the knowledge that the slave called upon must have already been inherent if he had not learned it before (since slaves had little tuition the boy was the perfect example for Socrates to demonstrate this inborn knowledge. ) Socrates makes his argument eject if the slave had no knowledge of what is was he was searching for (the length of the side), and the schooling was not taught to the boy, then the information must have already been inherent in the boys soul. Here is Socrates argument in forego/Conclusion form P break ones back isnt taught. P Slave has no prior knowledge. P Immortal soul contains knowledge. C fellowship must come from ones immortal soul. P You do not know what you are trying to find. P You are not taught what you are trying to find.P Your soul contains inherent knowledge. C You can find what you are searching for through recollection of the knowledge stored in your soul. Socrates proofs are meant to enforce his views that knowledge such as virtue must be searched for, that a man should enquire about that which he does not know (Meno, Plato). Citations Burbules, Nicholas C. Aporias, Webs, and Passages Doubt as an Opportunity to Learn. Curriculum Inquiry 30. 2 (2000) n. pag. Aporia. 2000. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. . Plato, and R. S. Bluck. Meno. Cambridge Eng. University, 1961. N. pag. Print.