Mayar Zarie
900150426
Dr. Steffen Stelzer
Philosophical Thinking – Final Essay
Question:
Describe the ways the Soul is addressed in Plato's Meno and in Descartes' Discourse on the Method.
The soul proved to be of considerable value subsequent to being mentioned numerously whether by Socrates in Plato's Meno, or by Descartes in Discourse on the Method. For starters, Socrates in Plato's Meno engaged in a fiery discussion with Meno discussing whether virtue can be taught or if it is God given. Going through quite a few hypothesis raised by Socrates, Socrates came to conversing about the role of the soul in regard to the latter enquiry. Post the sophistical paradox state they were in, Socrates responded to Meno with a mythos (poetic story),…show more content… Socrates subsequently drew a second square figure utilizing the diagonal of the primitive square. Each one of the diagonals cuts each two foot square in half, producing an area of two square feet. The square made up of four of the eight inner triangular areas is eight square feet, meaning that it is double that of the original area. Socrates managed to get the slave to be in agreement with him that this is twice the size of the original square, and later stated that the slave recollected knowledge he had already acquired in a past life without being educated on the subject. After witnessing the prior example with the slave, Meno affirmed to Socrates that he considered his theory of recollection to be of truth, to which Socrates responds, “I think I am. I shouldn’t like to take my oath on the whole story, but one thing I am ready to fight for as long as I can, in word and act—that is, that we shall be better, braver, and more active men if we believe it right to look for what we don’t know.” The latter manifestation displayed how the slave was competent at learning a geometrical truth for the reason that he previously had the knowledge in his soul. By then, Socrates had shown Meno that learning is attainable through the process of recollection and that his paradox claims that learning is impossible were fallacious, because the scrutinizing of the slave showed that it indeed is possible. Socrates asserted that prior to approaching the slave, the slave might have deliberated that he was well-informed on this subject. Moreover, he claimed that the constant "numbing" he caused in the slave was in actual fact
