Question 1

For Socrates,
A) all inquiry and all learning are subject to error.
B) all inquiry and all learning are fleeting images.
C) all inquiry and all learning are memorization.
D) all inquiry and all learning are recollection.

Accepted Answer

Socrates believed that all true knowledge is recollected from previous lives and experiences, and that all inquiry and learning is a form of recollection. He taught that the role of the teacher is not to impart knowledge, but to help guide the student in their recollection of what they already know.

Question 2

When the boy asserts that a line of four feet will produce a figure of eight square feet, Socrates points out that the boy ...
A) has made the correct calculation.
B) only guesses that because the square is double, the line is double.
C) has not learned enough mathematics to get the correct answer.
D) sees the correct answer in a dream-like state.

Accepted Answer

Socrates points out that the boy has only guessed that because the square is double, the line is double. He has not actually calculated the correct answer, indicating that his understanding of mathematics is lacking.

Question 3

What is Socrates's point when he says, "Do you see, Meno, what advances he [the boy] has made in his power of recollection? He did not know at first, and he does not know now, what is the side of a figure of eight feet. But then he thought that he knew, and answered confidently as if he knew, and had no difficulty. Now he has a difficulty, and neither knows nor thinks that he knows."
A) That the boy is better off in knowing his ignorance.
B) That the boy needs to be taught more of the Greek language.
C) That the boy doesn't understand basic Geometry.
D) That the boy will never be able to solve the problem.

Accepted Answer

Socrates is making the point that the boy has made progress because he now realizes the limitations of his knowledge and recognizes that he needs help to understand the problem. This shows that the boy is better off in knowing his ignorance rather than falsely believing that he knows something.

Question 4

Socrates asks, "If we have made him [the boy] doubt, then have we done him any harm?" Socrates then answers this question by saying ...
A) "we have made the boy so confused that he cannot do the necessary calculation."
B) "the doubt can be removed by teaching the boy more Geometry."
C) "we have certainly assisted him in some degree to the discovery of the truth."
D) "the doubt will go away by itself given enough time."

Accepted Answer

Socrates believes that making the boy doubt is actually helpful because it assists him in discovering the truth. Option A implies that the confusion caused harm, option B suggests that more teaching is necessary, and option D assumes that time will solve the problem without any effort on the part of the student or teacher.

Question 5

Socrates asks, "What do you say of him [the boy], Meno? Were not all these answers given out of his own head?" Meno's reply is ...
A) "No, you had to teach the boy at every step."
B) "No, he still does not understand the correct answer."
C) "Yes, but I had to show the boy a few of the steps."
D) "Yes, they were all his own."

Accepted Answer

Meno acknowledges that the boy came up with all the answers himself.

Question 6

For Socrates, the spontaneous recovery of knowledge is called ...
A) telepathy.
B) recollection.
C) regeneration.
D) transubstantiation.

Accepted Answer

Socrates believed that knowledge is innate and can be recovered through a process of questioning and reflection, which he referred to as recollection.

Question 7

For Socrates, all inquiry and all learning are recollection.

Accepted Answer

Socrates believed that all knowledge is already within us, and that the process of inquiry and learning is simply a process of recollecting this innate knowledge. This theory is known as the theory of recollection or anamnesis.

Question 8

When the boy asserts that a line of four feet will produce a figure of eight square feet, Socrates points out that the boy sees the correct answer in a dream-like state.

Accepted Answer

Socrates actually points out that the boy is not fully understanding the concept and is guessing based on a vague memory rather than logical reasoning.

Question 9

When Socrates says, "Do you see, Meno, what advances he [the boy] has made in his power of recollection? He did not know at first, and he does not know now, what is the side of a figure of eight feet. But then he thought that he knew, and answered confidently as if he knew, and had no difficulty. Now he has a difficulty, and neither knows nor thinks that he knows," Socrates' point is that the boy doesn't understand basic Geometry.

Accepted Answer

Socrates' point is to demonstrate the process of anamnesis, or recollection, suggesting that the boy, through questioning, has moved from a false belief of understanding to a realization of his own ignorance, which is a step towards true knowledge.

Question 10

Socrates asks, "If we have made him [the boy] doubt, then have we done him any harm?" Socrates then answers this question by saying that "we have certainly assisted him in some degree to the discovery of the truth."

Accepted Answer

Socrates believes that causing doubt and questioning can lead to a greater understanding of the truth, so he believes that they have assisted the boy in discovering the truth.

Question 11

Socrates asks, "What do you say of him [the boy], Meno? Were not all these answers given out of his own head?" Meno's reply is "Yes, they were all his own."

Accepted Answer

Meno confirms that the boy's answers were his own, as stated in the text.

Question 12

For Socrates, the spontaneous recovery of knowledge is called "regeneration."

Accepted Answer

Socrates referred to the spontaneous recovery of knowledge as "recollection," not "regeneration."

Question 13

What is Socrates's response when Meno asks, "How will you inquire, Socrates, into that which you do not know? What will you put forth as the subject of inquiry? And if you find what you want, how will you ever know that this is the thing which you did not know?"

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is Socrates's response when Meno asks,...

Question 14

What is Socrates's point when he says, "Do you see, Meno, what advances he has made in his power of recollection? He did not know at first, and he does not know now, what is the side of a figure of eight feet. But then he thought that he knew, and answered confidently as if he knew, and had no difficulty. Now he has a difficulty, and neither knows nor thinks that he knows."

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is Socrates's point when he says,...

Question 15

Describe Socrates's questioning process as he leads the boy to the solution of the geometrical problem.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe Socrates's questioning process as he leads...

Question 16

In your opinion, did Socrates teach the boy or simply have the boy recollect what he already knew? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In your opinion, did Socrates teach the...

Question 17

For Aristotle, a mind is ...
A) a sponge that sucks up knowledge and certainty.
B) a mirror of abstract ideas (universals).
C) like a writing tablet on which as yet nothing actually stands written.
D) like a reincarnated spirit.

Accepted Answer

Aristotle believed that the mind is not a passive receptacle for knowledge or a mirror of pre-existing ideas (B), nor is it a reincarnated spirit (D). Rather, he saw the mind as a potentiality, like a blank writing tablet, that is capable of acquiring knowledge and forming beliefs through experience and the processes of perception, memory, and reasoning.

Question 18

For Aristotle, "As the faculty of sense is to sensible objects [objects of sense perception], so must intellect be related to ..."
A) intelligible objects.
B) recognizable objects.
C) intuited objects.
D) ideal form objects.

Accepted Answer

Aristotle believed that just as the senses perceive sensible objects, the intellect should aim to understand intelligible objects, which are not perceived by the senses but rather grasped through reasoning and reflection.

Question 19

Aristotle says, "The mind, since it thinks all things, must be unlike anything it can know; hence it can have no nature of its own, other than that of having a certain ..."
A) agility.
B) formality.
C) capacity.
D) durability.

Accepted Answer

Aristotle argues that the mind is capable of thinking about all things, and must therefore be unlike anything it thinks about. This suggests that the mind cannot have a nature of its own beyond its capacity for thinking.

Question 20

Aristotle says that the intellect is nothing at all actually before it ...
A) sees physical objects.
B) thinks.
C) recollects ideas.
D) is reincarnated.

Accepted Answer

According to Aristotle, the intellect is nothing at all actually before it thinks. This means that for Aristotle, the intellect is not a passive receptacle that simply receives knowledge from the external world, but an active power that actively thinks and reflects on the knowledge it receives.

Quiz 2: Plato Knowledge Is Recollection

For Socrates,

When the boy asserts that a line of four feet will produce a figure of eight square feet, Socrates points out that the boy ...

Socrates asks, "If we have made him [the boy] doubt, then have we done him any harm?" Socrates then answers this question by saying ...

Socrates asks, "What do you say of him [the boy], Meno? Were not all these answers given out of his own head?" Meno's reply is ...

For Socrates, the spontaneous recovery of knowledge is called ...

For Socrates, all inquiry and all learning are recollection.

When the boy asserts that a line of four feet will produce a figure of eight square feet, Socrates points out that the boy sees the correct answer in a dream-like state.

Socrates asks, "If we have made him [the boy] doubt, then have we done him any harm?" Socrates then answers this question by saying that "we have certainly assisted him in some degree to the discovery of the truth."

Socrates asks, "What do you say of him [the boy], Meno? Were not all these answers given out of his own head?" Meno's reply is "Yes, they were all his own."

For Socrates, the spontaneous recovery of knowledge is called "regeneration."

What is Socrates's response when Meno asks, "How will you inquire, Socrates, into that which you do not know? What will you put forth as the subject of inquiry? And if you find what you want, how will you ever know that this is the thing which you did not know?"

Describe Socrates's questioning process as he leads the boy to the solution of the geometrical problem.

In your opinion, did Socrates teach the boy or simply have the boy recollect what he already knew? Explain your answer.

For Aristotle, a mind is ...

For Aristotle, "As the faculty of sense is to sensible objects [objects of sense perception], so must intellect be related to ..."

Aristotle says, "The mind, since it thinks all things, must be unlike anything it can know; hence it can have no nature of its own, other than that of having a certain ..."

Aristotle says that the intellect is nothing at all actually before it ...