Throughout Meno, both Socrates and I arrive at a few conclusions that I find significant. The first is that there is surface-level activity i.e. bravery, and then there is the activity that takes place within a man’s soul i.e. virtue—beneath the surface. Thus, a man’s virtue, or lack thereof, dictates his bravery, decision-making, etc (88b). Another conclusion that I derived from 88c is that virtue is implanted in a man’s soul when he’s created. Virtue merely exists at birth. However, as a man grows, his nature begins to embrace or degrade his virtue. Basically, we get to decide whether we will be virtuous beings. A good analogy for this is the use of a gun. A gun sitting in a room is not bad. It is neutral. What a man does with the gun, rather, is deemed good or bad. And finally, in 97c and 98a, one of the author’s final ideas was produced: true opinion vs. knowledge. Socrates states that “true opinions aren’t willing to stay put for a long time” (132). Having a true opinion means knowing all about a thing, but not actually knowing the thing that you know about. Knowledge, however, fulfills true opinion. A good representation of this concept might be this: there are often people who know all about their religion, but nothing about the God of whom his religion is inspired.
--Brittney Byerley
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Throughout the "Meno", I found many things that I personally found profound. Like discussed in class today, I believe that there are two types of knowledge. First, the knowledge that each individual is born with is called "spirtual" knowledge, this is something that us humans cannot fully understand; however, religion (Christianity) is the closest thing we have to fully understanding "spiritual" knowledge. Secondly, the knowledge that each individual gains through other individuals, life experience, ect. can be understood as "worldly" knowledge. I believe that it is something we are taught by others who we are in close contact with, especially our parents. Knowledge is something everyone is born with; however, there are some that use it to their advantage, and there are others who do not put forth the effort to achieve great things. This is why each individual is so different in this crazy world we currently live in.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree that one is born with knowledge. While we are certainly born with the capacity to obtain knowledge, it is not something that is an innate characteristic of humanity. One gains knowledge through the conscious questioning and testing of that which is put before them, and we are not capable of performing such a thing until after a certain point in our lives. Would you say that a 6 month old baby is knowledgeable?
ReplyDeleteI would agree that knowledge is something that is gained, but I disagree with your statement of a six month old baby having knowledge. I believe that the minute a baby is born they start gaining knowledge. They might not be full of knowledge, but they will start gaining it. They will be bombarded with new things and they will start to take in everything they feel and at a later date see.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I should have clarified. The capacity for virtue is implanted in a man's soul the moment his creation begins. Our "virtue" is something that must be fulfilled. We'll save how it's filled for another time. : )
ReplyDeleteThe idea that we are born with knowledge is one that is difficult for me. I like to think that we have a certain amount of knowledge when we are born, but the only thing I am able to think of is a knowlege of being hungry or a knowledge that they need to be burped. But I don't think Socrates would consider that knowledge.
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