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Full Idea
Seeking and learning are in fact nothing but recollection.
Gist of Idea
Seeking and learning are just recollection
Source
Plato (Meno [c.385 BCE], 81d)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.880
A Reaction
This is a prelude to the famous conversation with the slave boy about geometry. You don't have to follow Plato into the doctrine of reincarnation; this remark is a key slogan for all rationalists. As pupils in maths lessons, we pull knowledge from within.
5985 | Seeking and learning are just recollection [Plato] |
5986 | The slave boy learns geometry from questioning, not teaching, so it is recollection [Plato] |
357 | People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram [Plato] |
359 | If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original [Plato] |
5961 | The soul gets its goodness from god, and its evil from previous existence. [Plato] |
1823 | We can't seek for things if we have no idea of them [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius] |