Socrates And Meno Analysis
Speaking through Socrates and Meno, Plato attempts to confront the perplexing concepts behind
what it is to have knowledge. Is there a difference between knowing something and having a
correct opinion or true belief of that thing? Perhaps if our correct opinion or true belief leads us to
the same accurate conclusion as one who has knowledge, then we are indeed knowledgable?
Socrates establishes that in order to have knowledge, our true belief or opinion must be justified
and although in some cases correct opinion and true belief may provide us with an agreeable and
valid conclusion, it is not necessarily knowledge as its success is unpredictable. This is conveyed
through Meno, “the man who has knowledge will always succeed, whereas he who has true
opinion will …show more content…
Without an account or justification, correct opinions are meaningless and like any kind of property,
can be forgotten or discarded. Opinions are also ever-changing and so lack the stability and
therefore the value that knowledge carries. Interestingly however, the statue in the analogy seems
to possess value despite it being untied as it was a creation of Daedalus, a skilful craftsman and
artist. This has lead to what seems to be a contradictory analogy and it could be argued that in
likening Daedalus’ statue to the un-valuable and impermanent nature of correct opinion whilst
untied, “Socrates jokes that his genius is greater than that of Daedalus because he was only able
to make his own works move, whereas Socrates can make the works/statements of others move
as well” This approach however seems rather far-fetched and thus expresses that Plato’s analogy
cannot be read as a literal text but rather a metaphorical insight into the significance of knowledge
contrary to correct opinion.
Despite the simplicity of the narrative between Socrates and Meno, Plato is constructing a
what it is to have knowledge. Is there a difference between knowing something and having a
correct opinion or true belief of that thing? Perhaps if our correct opinion or true belief leads us to
the same accurate conclusion as one who has knowledge, then we are indeed knowledgable?
Socrates establishes that in order to have knowledge, our true belief or opinion must be justified
and although in some cases correct opinion and true belief may provide us with an agreeable and
valid conclusion, it is not necessarily knowledge as its success is unpredictable. This is conveyed
through Meno, “the man who has knowledge will always succeed, whereas he who has true
opinion will …show more content…
Without an account or justification, correct opinions are meaningless and like any kind of property,
can be forgotten or discarded. Opinions are also ever-changing and so lack the stability and
therefore the value that knowledge carries. Interestingly however, the statue in the analogy seems
to possess value despite it being untied as it was a creation of Daedalus, a skilful craftsman and
artist. This has lead to what seems to be a contradictory analogy and it could be argued that in
likening Daedalus’ statue to the un-valuable and impermanent nature of correct opinion whilst
untied, “Socrates jokes that his genius is greater than that of Daedalus because he was only able
to make his own works move, whereas Socrates can make the works/statements of others move
as well” This approach however seems rather far-fetched and thus expresses that Plato’s analogy
cannot be read as a literal text but rather a metaphorical insight into the significance of knowledge
contrary to correct opinion.
Despite the simplicity of the narrative between Socrates and Meno, Plato is constructing a