Meno

As in the Apology, there is a riddle in Meno:

One "cannot search for what he knows — since he knows it, there is no need to search — nor for what he does not know, for he does not know what to look for" (p. 70*).

Socrates proposes the theory of recollection — a theory that is "both true and beautiful" (p. 71) — as a solution to this riddle.

The theory can be broken down into three key points:

1. "...the human soul is immortal; at times it comes to an end, which they call dying; at times it is reborn, but it is never destroyed..." (p. 71)

2. "As the soul is immortal, has been born often, and has seen all things here and in the underworld, there is nothing which it has not learned..." (p. 71)

3. For these reasons, "the truth about reality is always in our soul..." (p. 78).

Thus, to discover the truth, one must look inward — into the soul — instead of outward. In short, one must remember what one already knew. In other words, knowledge has roots in the deep past, and it can be remembered through questioning. This is how one truly learns.

The Ancient Greek word for recollection is ἀνάμνησις. This word is a verbal noun that means reminiscence or recall. The same word appears in the New Testament (e.g. it is translated as remembrance in Luke 22:19).

Contrast the above theory with conventional images of growth and decline:

The Life and Age of Man (Currier & Ives, 19th cent.)

The Life and Age of Woman (Currier & Ives, 19th cent.)

Question: If the truth is "inside" and not "outside," does formal schooling — grade school, college, graduate school, etc. — hinder or help recollection?

What is virtue?

In the Apology, there is uncertainty about death.

In Meno, there is uncertainty about virtue.

Although Meno proposes many definitions of virtue, Socrates shows that each definition is inadequate. In both dialogues, we never arrive at a conclusive answer.

You may think that in our modern, scientific era, we have conclusive answers. We don't. Uncertainty still haunts us.

Limits of artificial intelligence (AI):

Artificial intelligence may appear promising, but it too fails to give us answers. In fact, AI reveals the human limitations of its programmers.

Another instance of "AI technology," Wolfram|Alpha, also fails to adequately define virtue.

Limits of human intelligence (HI):

Aside from AI, can science rid us of uncertainty? Let's consider the theoretical physicist who led the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer.

After the atomic bombing of Japan, Oppenheimer said that 'making armaments was "the devil's work"; that the bomb "mercilessly" dramatized "the inhumanity and evil of modern war" and that the physicists who built the atomic bomb had "known sin"; that he himself had blood on his hands.'^†

Note the religious terms in the passage above: the devil's work, evil, and sin. Oppenheimer eschews scientific terminology and resorts to religious concepts when he describes the moral consequences of his actions and those of his colleagues.

In Meno, Socrates concludes that if we cannot have knowledge, we can at least hope to attain true belief, or correct opinion, of what virtue is. Belief and opinion do not give us proof or certainty, but they are a means of mitigating ignorance and uncertainty.

It is important to note that Socrates alludes to the possibility of attaining true knowledge and the certainty that comes with it through divine assistance (p. 92). This raises some interesting questions: How does one seek divine assistance? How many of us can really hope for this?

We will end with a clip from an interview with Oppenheimer several years after the atomic bombings:

J. Robert Oppenheimer in 1955 ^‡

Oppenheimer's question is: How can we live with ignorance? We can restate this as: How can we live with uncertainty?

Notes:

* Unless otherwise stated, page numbers refer to our textbook, Plato: Five Dialogues.

† Source: "The Gita of J. Robert Oppenheimer" by James A. Hijiya, pp. 127-128.

‡ From an interview on Edward Murrow's television program See It Now (1955).