Oral exam

Prompts
10/10: well-articulated, philosophically nuanced response demonstrating mastery of the
material

1. In Plato’s Meno, Socrates argues that learning is recollection (81B-86C). What problem is
this thesis meant to solve, and how might it solve that problem?

meant to solve the problem that learning is impossible : Do you see what a captious argument you are introducing—that, forsooth, a man cannot inquire either about what he knows or about whit he does not know? For he cannot inquire about what he knows, because he knows it, and in that case is in no need of inquiry; nor again can lie inquire about what he does not know, since he does not know about what he is to inquire.


2. What reasons are given in Plato’s Meno for the thesis that virtue is knowledge (87C-89C)?
Why, despite those reasons, does Socrates claim that virtue is not knowledge (89D-100B)?

Soc: only thing teachable is knowledge. virtue is beneficial so can be taught. if knowledge there should be teachers

1: nothing good not embraced by knowledge: virtue then is a kind of knowledge because virtue is good

sorts of things that profit us can also harm us. goods of the soul to are profitable only when used right, must know how to use a thing right (knowledge makes things helpful to have)

the properties of the soul are in themselves neither profitable nor harmful, but are made either one or the other. virtue being profitable must be a sort of wisdom.

Then may we assert this as a universal rule, that in man all other things depend upon the soul, while the things of the soul herself depend upon wisdom,

2: has not found teachers of virtue — teachers can be corrupt(knowledgeable but not virtuous): motivation behind it matters , doing something because you are told is not virtuous.

  • example of politicians

  • great leaders cannot instill virtue into any person: example of great children with parents who are not great, and great parents whose children are not. virtue cannot be taught so it cannot be knowledge. it must be inherent : “a gift from God”


3. In the first two chapters of the Metaphysics, Aristotle argues that wisdom is knowledge of
“first causes” (981b29, 982b10) What is his argument for this conclusion?

Aristotle uses the example of the master craftsman compared to a manual laborer, what differentiates a master craftsman is that they know why to do certain things, not just what to do. - evidence: a sign of the one who knows and the one who does not is being able to teach

  • experiencing the senses is not knowing how they work- senses are easy

    • knowing how homeostasis works is different from performing homeostasis. I am performing homeostasis right now, I am not distinguished from anyone else.

  • I can do something for others, I hold something valuable which we call wisdom only when I know why —- fuels progress

  • wisdom is not subject to the fallacies of human perception, to the context it is in. for a human to not go based on their perception(pov and time and place) they must know the truth which is independent of their experiences: that is first causes

  • the deeper origin you know, the more things it can apply to, more universal and eternal truth: the wiser you are

calls the problem captious

Meno is the paradigm of problematic mindsets that can trap people in immobility. There are people who have a high of an opinion of their own knowledge such that they don’t need to learn, as well as people who feel they dont know enough to start- both of these mindsets, whether learning is truly recollection, discourage individual and societal development.

By reframing knowledge as having to do with the soul, it disconnects the task from these behaviors which keep us from learning and puts it into a separate category which is more divine and inherent.

It would solve that problem so that people are actually “energetic” to learn. In other words, it encourages awe, questioning, because there is a possibility in sight to learn- people can be motivated to know what they don’t know.

makes sense that meno means to remain— his behaviors are that which would cause humanity to remain in their present understanding, to not learn(or recollect) and move forward. The thought that learning is recollection is an empowerment that is universal to all people because it has to do with the soul and hence anybody is capable of it.

  • coordinated

  • the notes themselves are not inherently good, but when harmonized they are. knowledge of how to play the different notes of the soul is what allows you to play a beautiful song aka live a beautiful life

to make something simple enough to explain to a beginner, you must understand what is important and essential about the thing. the art is derived from knowledge— the person must experience themselves, but knowledge can transcend, be transferred from person to person

Mendeleev: was right in his assertion of the properties of an atom he had never worked with because he understood the mechanics of atoms, how valence electrons affect reactivity etc. somebody who tested that atom got it wrong and Mendeleev was so confident in the relationships that he noted through reasoning that he insisted