Socrates: Meno

Socrates: Meno

At the beginning of Meno the question of what virtue is and whether

or not it can be taught is brought up. The question of whether knowledge is

virtue or virtue is knowledge is also brought up in the text. There are many different interpretations of Meno and all the things discussed within it.

I am sure that there are many views and ideas as to where knowledge comes from, the true source of knowledge. Now nobody really knows where knowledge comes from, but Socrates has a good idea. In Meno, Socrates says that knowledge is all recollection. He basically says that we all already possess all knowledge, but the key is in recollection of this supposed knowledge.

Socrates belief that we all possess knowledge from previous experiences makes sense, in a way. Socrates believes that the soul is not mortal and it knows everything that is in existence, because your soul supposedly existed in a previous life. He is saying that the true source of knowledge comes from our souls, which in many ways I agree with him. While most of this may seem hard to understand, the whole idea of your soul being reborn from a previous life is a little far fetched. Even though it may seem far fetched it is still a very believable theory. We all have the capabilities of knowing, if the true source of knowledge comes from the soul. Everyone has a soul, so therefore everyone has the capability of having knowledge, since we all already possess the knowledge for everything.

Now back to virtue, Socrates says that virtue is good. Knowledge is said to include everything that is good, then that means that virtue is a part of knowledge. Then is virtue is part of knowledge then that means virtue can be taught.

In conclusion, I agree with the idea that the true source of knowledge comes from within us all. Our souls possess an abundant amount of knowledge whether we know it or not. Although some may not agree with this idea, I think it is the best explanation for the source of knowledge.