Ishaan Jalan

22nd March 2010.

The Theory of Recollection: Knowledge forgotten is hidden within.

Plato, a classical Greek philosopher is famous as a writer for his Socratic dialogues; indeed,

thirty-five dialogues and seven letters can be attributed to him. In Plato’s Meno, Socrates is

presented as a guide, a philosopher whose questions “prodded… a slave into recollecting…

prior knowledge, and not drawing new conclusions from data being presented to him for

the first time”i. Plato’s conception of true knowledge is based on its innate nature and his

theory of recollection, which suggests that all knowledge can be recollected through

intelligent inquiry, is necessary for this conception of knowledge to be true. Virtue and

knowledge can be learned, but only from within one’s self and not from others. Man’s

existence and experiences on Earth are simply catalysts that aid him on his path of

recollection. Plato demonstrates the veracity behind the theory of recollection and the

concept of all true knowledge being innate through Socratic dialogues in the Meno and

Phaedo.

One of the earliest examples we encounter against the theory of recollection is

during Socrates’ conversation with Meno, in Plato’s Meno. Meno wants to know Socrates’

stand on whether virtue can be taught or whether it comes by practice, or whether it is

acquired by birth. Socrates wants to “examine and seek together with [Meno] what it may

be”ii. This is when Meno presents the debater’s argument or what has now come to be

known as the Sophistic paradox, in which he questions “how [Socrates] can search for it

(virtue), when he does not know what it is? If [Socrates] should meet with it, how will he

know that this is the thing that [he] did not know?”iii. To counter Meno’s argument, Socrates

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replies: “As the soul is immortal, has been born often, and has seen all the things here and

in the underworld, there is nothing which it has not learned; so it is in now way surprising

that it can recollect the things it knew before, both about virtue and other things.” iv. The

conception of true knowledge being innate and that the theory of recollection is necessary

to ‘recollect’ this forgotten knowledge is borne out by Socrates’ testimony. Plato and

Socrates saw themselves as guides; teachers who did not simply ‘teach’ the answer to the

student, rather helped guide the student to recollect this knowledge on his or her own.

Plato uses Socrates’ belief in the ‘soul’s immortality’ v to prove the necessity of the theory of

recollection in the fulfillment of true knowledge. Thus, Plato develops the idea of the soul’s

repeated reincarnation and suggests that the soul’s learning is forgotten by the event of

birth in a new body, and the growth of knowledge within the mind during a lifetime is

simply the recollection of knowledge from the soul.

In Plato’s Meno, Meno is presented as a critic; a character whose questioning and

disbelief in Socrates leads to further discussion that constitutes proof of the veracity within

the theory of recollection. Anamnesis or the concept of ‘reminiscence’ is a term construed

by Plato to connect learning with remembering and as he writes “inquiring and learning

are wholly recollection.”vi As Ross Harman writes, “this is the theory, and Socrates goes on

to use a slave-boy for the purposes of demonstrating his theory [82b-85b].” vii Socrates

instructs Meno “to pay attention to whether he [Meno], thinks [the slave boy] is

recollecting or learning from [Socrates].viii Socrates questions the slave boy on the area of a

square whose sides are two units long. Although the slave boy has no geometric

knowledge, guided by Socrates’ questions, he is able to give the correct answer. Socrates

later asks him the resulting area, if the sides were to double, which would put the area at

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16 units. However, the slave-boy initially confident gives the incorrect answer of 8 units.

Realizing his mistake and once again helped by Socrates, the slave-boy arrives at the

conclusion through trial-and-error. This demonstration by Socrates leads him to proclaim

to Meno that one need not understand mathematics, rather have someone ‘prod’ them with

the right questions that will lead them on the path of recollection. As Socrates says of the

slave-boy, “without anyone having taught him, and only through questions put to him, he

will understand, recovering the knowledge out of himself.” ix This example proves that since

the slave-boy had no prior training in geometrical matters, he could not have gained this

knowledge during his lifetime. It is conclusive proof of the theory of recollection’s role in

the recovery of forgotten knowledge; knowledge that our souls had learned previously and

forgotten by shock of birth.

Plato’s theory of the Forms, or his concept of true knowledge is one of most widely

recognized theories with regard to knowledge in Western philosophy. Plato’s evidence

behind his theory of The Forms relied heavily on his intuition and he sought to question

others to establish this evidence. As Plato wrote in the Cratylus: “When a man has

discovered the instrument which is naturally adapted to each work, he must express this

natural form, and not others which he fancies, in the material …” x This argument makes the

case that no one has actually ever seen the perfect circle or triangle. Yet, we all know what

the Forms of these geometric shapes are. This knowledge cannot have been taught to us,

since no one has ever seen the perfect circle or triangle. Thus, the theory of recollection can

be used to explain our knowledge of these forms despite having never seen them. Plato’s

conception of all knowledge being innate is elucidated in this example, where despite

having never encountered this Form, we are able visualize it and create unique examples of

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this Form. A common argument against this is that we are able to understand and posses

knowledge of the Forms due to our experience and contact with shapes, etc. that are part of

the various Forms. However, this does not explain how we are able to create our own

versions of these shapes and how we posses a general idea of the Forms. We have never

encountered The Form of any entity in our lifetime, yet we are able to recollect some

knowledge of it and thus possess this general idea. This ‘general’ idea of an entity is not an

adequate explanation for the existence of our knowledge since it is this general idea itself

that we have gained through recollection of the Form of that entity. Thus, the theory of

Forms further substantiates the validity of the theory of recollection and it’s necessary role

in Plato’s conception of true knowledge.

The theory of recollection is the solution to the mystery of our own hidden

knowledge. It can be used to explain modern day phenomena, the introduction of logic, and

our intuition and ideas. Let us take the example of intuition that we possess about the

environment that surrounds us. Whenever we take decisions on matters of which we have

no previous experience, we rely on our intuition, or our ability to ‘guess’. What really is this

knowledge that we employ? We cannot have learned it in our lifetime since we have had no

experience of the matter at hand. The only plausible explanation is that we recollect

knowledge within us, knowledge if we understood, we could be considered ‘enlightened’.

Let us consider the role of recollection in the foundations of logic. Mathematics, considered

by many as the language of logic, is simply a sophisticated form of knowledge that we

already possess within us. When you put 2 apples in front of an uneducated tribal man he

will still know that it is 2. When you add 2 more apples next to them, he will understand

that there are now 4 apples. He may not be able to express this comprehensively, but he

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possesses the knowledge to know that the number of apples has been doubled. We arrive

at an interesting question: where he got this knowledge? The only explanation is that

actions in putting the apples in front of him, made him recollect the knowledge of addition.

The Phaedo is another Socratic dialogue that discusses the theory of recollection and

The Forms. The knowledge of The Equal is an important example that further adds

substance to the argument that the theory of recollection is necessary in the conception of

true knowledge. As retold by Phaedo after Socrates’ death, Simmias and Socrates’ discuss

equal things and the concept of ‘The Equal’. Socrates once again demonstrates that

knowledge is innate by introducing an example:

“Whenever someone, on seeing something, realizes that that which he now sees

wants to be like some other reality but falls short and cannot be like that since it is inferior,

do we agree that the one who thinks this must have prior knowledge of that to which he

says it is like, but deficiently so?”xi

Plato’s Phaedo introduces the comparison of different objects to their respective ‘perfect’

Form or The Equal. In the dialogue, Socrates suggests that we must have possessed

knowledge of The Equal before we saw ‘equal objects’ otherwise we would not have been

able to compare them. Simmias agrees with him and then Socrates says that we must “have

acquired knowledge of the Equal before this”,xii further substantiating the claim that true

knowledge is innate. Socrates then says, “it seems then that we must have possessed it

before birth.”xiii Simmias continues to agree with Socrates, whereupon Socrates says that

their present conversation was not just about the Equal, but the Beautiful, the Good, the

Just, etc. and that they “acquired knowledge about all of them before (they) were born”. xiv

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Thus, Socrates conversation with Simmias is another indicator of knowledge humans

possess before birth, which is the knowledge possessed by our souls that we recollect from

within us.

In conclusion, I would like to say that despite the wide scope encompassed by

Platonic theory and the vagueness of the Forms, Plato’s theory of recollection remains

sound in its use of logic. No explanation regarding our ability to guess, to have some prior

knowledge or intuition in matters is more satisfactory than the theory that we possess true

knowledge within us which we recollect as our lives wear on. Science has grown at

astronomical rate and yet it cannot explain how the first triangle or shape came into being

and how we are able to recognize such shapes without ever having seen the perfect version

of such identities. Platonic theory regarding the Forms lays down the foundation of a

knowledge we possess within us, a knowledge that we cannot gain from outside

experience. Intellectual self-inquiry leads us to this knowledge; it aids us on our path of

remembrance. As Plato suggests in his theory of recollection: knowledge forgotten is

hidden within.

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i
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: Meno, Page 59. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
ii
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 80d Meno, Page 70. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
iii
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 80d-e Meno, Page 70. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
iv
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 81c-d Meno, Page 71. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
v
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 81a-b Meno, Page 70-71. Hackett Publishing Company,
Inc. (Indianapolis/Cambridge).
vi
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 81c/d Meno, Page 71. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
vii
Harman, Ross: Meno’s Paradox of Inquiry and Socrates’ Theory of Recollection; Page 2. St. Anne’s
College, Oxford University.
viii
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 82b Meno, Page 72. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
ix
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 85d Meno, Page 77-78. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
x
Plato: Cratylus; Paragraph# 389.
xi
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 74e Phaedo, Page 113. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
xii
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 75c Phaedo, Page 113. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
xiii
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 75c Phaedo, Page 113. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis/Cambridge).
xiv
Cooper, M. John: Plato, Five Dialogues: 75c-d Phaedo, Page 113-114. Hackett Publishing
Company, Inc. (Indianapolis/Cambridge).