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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.
1913 | Is virtue taught, or achieved by practice, or a natural aptitude, or what? [Plato] |
1916 | Even if virtues are many and various, they must have something in common to make them virtues [Plato] |
1918 | How can you know part of virtue without knowing the whole? [Plato] |
11259 | How can you seek knowledge of something if you don't know it? [Plato] |
1919 | You don't need to learn what you know, and how do you seek for what you don't know? [Plato] |
5985 | Seeking and learning are just recollection [Plato] |
5986 | The slave boy learns geometry from questioning, not teaching, so it is recollection [Plato] |
1921 | If virtue is a type of knowledge then it ought to be taught [Plato] |
1922 | Spiritual qualities only become advantageous with the growth of wisdom [Plato] |
1923 | As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge [Plato] |
20219 | True opinions only become really valuable when they are tied down by reasons [Plato] |
1927 | It seems that virtue is neither natural nor taught, but is a divine gift [Plato] |