Plato's "Meno"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores Plato's contemplation of human ability to understand and comprehend truth via his well-known work "Meno." It includes a comparison and a contrast with the thoughts on the subject from Descartes and Hume.

From the Paper:

"Bold and vexing, the question arises from the text of Plato's Meno: Is knowledge of any truth possible, since a person either already knows the truth, and would therefore not be capable of learning it, or does not know, and hence would not recognize such truth when it appears? Great thinkers both modern and historic have likely proposed numerous and diverse answers to this complex and enduring poser. This diversity of belief and opinion amongst those who have devoted lifetimes to pursuit of just such questions suggests that either a), They are nearly all wrong and there is a single and succinct solution to the question, or b), each in their own way has provided clarification leading to a collective idea of the truth, as it regards this inquisition. Let us consider first the rationalist approach, as employed by Descartes."

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