A Contrario

One of my favorite classes last semester was philosophy, not only because it was at 125 everyday, but it is by far the most entertaining and insightful class i have ever taken......so far. anywho, this is something that I wrote about one of my favorite philosophers, Socrates, because it makes a strong claim for this thing called "innate knowledge; a philosophical claim that the mind is not a clean slate like john locke claims, but in actuallity is the continuation of knowledge gained in past lives. Though i do not believe in a past life so to speak, I do believe in the his claim. That being said, Socrates believed that through recollection, we already have all the knowledge we need, and clearly makes a strong claim for it in his conversation with Meno. So....

In “Meno,” Plato is having a conversation with Meno, a man he meets that is visiting Athens. Meno, knowing of Plato’s wisdom and intellect, asks Plato a few questions on virtue; on whether it is taught or we acquire it in some other fashion. Plato begins by saying that he is completely ignorant of any virtues(71b), and this frustrates Meno even more since his question has yet to be answered. After a rebuttal by Meno who tries to define what virtue is, Socrates then explains that one cannot know the qualities of any one thing without knowing it’s true form(71b). Meno becomes even more frustrated and claims that one cannot find something, I.e. this virtue, if he does not know what he is looking for(80d). Socrates then makes his main philosophical claim of the section, that knowledge is not acquired by us in this life, but is passed down through an immortal soul and that all we have to do as human beings is recollect this knowledge.
Socrates believed that the soul is immortal, and that through it’s past lives it has seen anything and everything that is part of this world and the next(81c). Therefore, we never learn anything, we just recollect the knowledge that our soul already posses. This knowledge, this innate knowledge; is where we acquire the knowledge of virtue and good that we seek in the world. Socrates then to fortify his claim, uses one of Meno’s slaves to defend his claim. He calls forth one of Meno’s slaves and gives him a simple geometry problem. Eventually with Socrates encouragement, The boy arrives at the correct answers with little help(85a-d). Slaves then were often uneducated and knew little about the math and the arts, yet Socrates uses a slave boy to prove to Meno that knowledge and wisdom are recalled rather than learned.
Even in our own lives, Socrates shows us that we recollect knowledge more often than we are taught. With children, ethics are often recalled rather than instilled in them at a young age. A child does not learn how to lie, yet knows how to as well as knows it is wrong. The knowledge of good and evil is also demonstrated as innate, with something as simple as being afraid of the dark, a precursor for many things that involve wrongdoing. Certain fears demonstrate innate knowledge, such as a fear of heights or a fear of tight spaces, as they are hazardous and provide potential for injury. Once one arrives at the age that they can think more logically, this idea becomes even more prevalent. When you see something in the world, a certain event, you know it has a cause; though you do not understand why you understand that it does despite having no knowledge of the event. When you think even deeper, wondering about things like “Who am I, where did I come from;” you will also understand that you were created by someone or something in the beginning, though you have virtually no knowledge of any certain omniscient figure.
Through looking at Socrates’ example with the slave boy as well as examining our own lives, we can see clear examples of knowledge being recollected rather than taught. As he describes to Meno the philosophical concept of knowledge recalled rather than learned, you can’t help but to think of all the things in one’s own life that this concept applies: ethics, fear, knowledge of a greater being, et cetera. Meno in the end cannot grasp the fact that we can learn something we have no idea exists, so Socrates makes the claim that is true to all philosophers; “We all will be better men who search for things he does not know, rather than he who doesn’t search for the things he has no hope in finding(86c).” As we are all beings containing this immortal soul, according to Socrates, we are all able to acquire knowledge of anything, as long as we have a soul we are able to recall such knowledge; the concept of an innate knowledge.

"from a contrary opinion"

A fortiori

haha, its only been a week; but i am already bad at this. so i've been really busy, i hope it isn't going to be like this for long, cause i enjoy writing little notes to myself for future reference. anywho, im not going to write you any excuses on why i haven't written in a while. It was David Hume that said "Be a philosopher, yet be still a man;" so i will act accordingly. I haven't forgotten about this, nor will this be the last time that there is a lapse. to live life means to have days full and eventful, and somedays there isn't enough time to write to you. so since it is almost 3 in the morning, i'll leave you with something i decided to write on....(I gave myself a fifteen minute time limit....call it a freewrite with edit.....as long as it fits....)

Memoires

Memories;

That's all i have to go by these days,
As i sit,
Sit and listen through the pouring rain,
For your soft voice,
Hope for your gentle touch;
All i can do is remember.

The days when we were together,
Those feelings i thought were infinite,
Than taken away with such haste.
People ask me do I forget you,
Since you've been away more than a spell now.
Forget?

Because even after all these years,
After many day and countless nights,
After the leaves fall,
And the flowers bloom seven times over,
It is still all I think about.
You.

You.
Always said you would love me always and forever,
And you did.
But we couldn't always be together.
Cause neither you nor i could last forever.
So I sit.

And wait.
If my tears were my stairway,
and my memories a lane,
I'd walk through those gates,
To be with the only one I ever loved;
You.

One day i'll see you again;
Until then,
its nothing more.......

Memories.

"with yet stronger reason"