Meno

In this past week, our class discussions have revolved primarily around teaching, knowledge, understanding, and virtue. We discussed whether it was possible to accurately define what each of these words were and whether we would ever be able to come to a conclusion. Although my opinions differ from many others i presume, here is my best attempt at defining what each are.

Teaching is telling someone how to do something. Knowledge is actually knowing how to do it. Understanding is taking your knowledge and applying it. And virtue is the pursuit of what is good. Although I somewhat disagree with what I just said, based on the fact that I believe that it is hard to accurately define what each of those ideas are, it is necessary to have a basis on which I form the rest of my opinions.

First comes teaching. Say you were to follow someone while hiking in the woods. You had no experience hiking, while the person you were following was an eagle scout. He tore down a few branches and began making a fire with a piece of flint that he had in his back pack. Although he never said a word to you, You now know how to make a fire. This is teaching, leading through experience. This is what each teacher does, have and experience with a thing or idea, and then presenting it to the student. Then the student knows the idea, but until they actually apply it, they have no true understanding of it.

As far as teaching goes, I do believe that there are things that cannot be taught. I believe that things created by man (i.e. a way to record time, the words we use to describe things, etc.) can be taught. For example, knowing that 12 p.m. means that the sun is high in the sky was taught to us. We did not know that before it was presented to us. At the same time, things that were not created by man (i.e. virtue) cannot be taught. Man did not create virtue. It is something that has always existed and that man has always wanted to achieve. However, it can not be taught. It must be obtained, or rather given to someone.