At this time last year, I was struggling to complete my college applications. I was was prompted to ask myself: what was I good at? What should I apply myself to? What would be my role in society? I didn’t know what to respond.
Socrates, on the other hand, has an answer these questions Continue reading
Economics Philosophy
In “Book II” of Plato’s, Republic, Socrates discusses what it means to be “just” with Adeimantus using the analogy of a city to create a powerful image of being “just.” As the analogy of the city begins to grow, Socrates discusses what it takes to create a “just” and well functioning city beginning with the jobs Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Philosophy, Education, Experience, Identity, Knowledge, Uncategorized
Tagged economics, Harry, knowledge, Philosophy, problem solving
At 390 c, Socrates invokes a double standard seemingly very contrary to his prior discussion of justice, peace, and virtue. Here, he claims that the ruler of the city has the right to lie to its citizens at times of emergency, whereas the individual should never be untruthful in any situation.
I believe that this is a very ironic statement, in that it goes against much of what Socrates stands for. As a supporter of the power and importance of individualism, this claim that the collective is worth more than the individual in the long run is highly contradictory to much of what he has philosophized before.
Although this is a small point from the several selections we were instructed to read, I cannot help but say that I am very surprised by this claim and somewhat discouraged by it. Socrates has always struck me as a philosopher that encourages the individual to find his or her own path in life and then follow it based off what he or she holds dear in this life, and the value system he or she has created. I would never have expected him to say that the individual must adhere to the will of the city rulers for the greater good, especially if it goes against him or her’s beliefs, and create such a double standard between the collective and the individual.
In my opinion, both the city rulers and individual should be challenged to always be truthful. Just because the city has some control over the lives of its citizens, such as in creating policy and enforcing it, and protecting its people, it should not be given free reign to impose practices based upon deception and dishonesty, even if it is seemingly in the best interest of the people at the time. If the government is told that it is acceptable to lie in times of emergency for the sake of the “greater good,” or collective, such direction would prove disastrous, as it could assume total power, leading to corruption and tyranny in the future.
Although I found the majority of the selected reading to be very thought-provoking and beneficial, I have to say that I was concerned about Socrates’ statement concerning deception, and the city rulers’ right to it when they think it is “necessary,” as its implication degrades the liberty of the individual and allows the government the possibility of assuming total power and forming a tyranny that further damages such free will.
Posted in Ancient Philosophy, Education, Experience, Knowledge, Uncategorized
Tagged implications, individual, Socrates
In schools, the relationship between student and teacher is a strange one. How far should the teacher be willing to educate a student, and how far should the student be willing to try?
Meno questioned whether knowledge (teaching) and experience (practice) are mutually exclusive at the beginning of the dialogue. This dichotomy has me ponder, “What is the way to obtain the best education?”
Before attempting to answer the question, I will differentiate knowledge (teaching) and experience (practice). First of all, knowledge might be superficial in one’s mind because it is often proved by someone else’s studies. Thus, teaching is the same as spreading one’s experience to other individuals. However, acquiring knowledge from teaching does not secure the meaning behind it because one’s experience is something that cannot be transferred. On the other hand, trials create experience that are realistic because of the consequences one receives. To sum up their differences, knowledge exists in a blurry vision while experience lives with vivid images.
In order to weigh teaching vs. practice, the issue of theoretical knowledge vs. practical knowledge is considered. The former is obtained from reading formal writings and listening to lectures, or so-called “book-smart.” Whereas, the latter is grasped by performing experiments and trial-and-errors, or so-called “street-smart.” According to the definitions above, they are completely distinct from one another, but share a common goal: personal improvement. Similarly, education is about acquiring and applying existing knowledge to increase overall human intelligence. Thus, teaching cannot bring the best results, nor can practice. They have to work together in order to yield the best results. For instance, a surgeon should not be allowed to perform a surgery if she has no ideas where the heart is. At the same time, she should not conduct the surgery for someone’s life if she has no prior experience.
In conclusion, knowledge and experience are two different perceptions. However, their differences are blessings because they are the final missing pieces of the puzzle called education.
Posted in Education, Experience, Knowledge
Tagged Dinh, Education, experience, knowledge, Week 2
Would you be able to learn how to ride a bicycle from being told? Or by practice alone? Being taught to ride isn’t the same as practicing riding, but the two supplement each other and are necessary to help the student eventually acquire the real sense and skills to actually maneuver the machine. Continue reading
Posted in Education, Experience, Knowledge
Tagged Caroline, experience, knowledge, Meno, teaching
The passage by Plato about the conversation between Meno and Socrates commences with a sentence that distinguishes teaching from practice and experience. Although these have different meanings, they are not contrary ideas as the passage seems to suggest. That’s not to say that these are the same or always used together. Both teaching and experience can serve the purpose of learning independently of one another. For example, a child’s mother may tell him that the skinny limbs on a tree will break easily. This is one way for the child to learn this fact. Another way, of course, would be to physically snap the thin branch of a tree and learn from experience. In this case, experience is different from practice and the two words are not interchangeable.
Sometimes, the two methods are used in congruence with one another, and often in these situations practice and experience are closely related. An example of this would be learning to shoot a soccer ball. The coach teaches the players to strike the ball with their laces, how to aim, and how to exert the proper amount of power. The players then practice applying these skills, and in this way, gain experience.
All of this is also assuming that teaching involves a third party. A person could teach themselves the notes and keys on a piano and practice reading music and playing songs to gain experience and through that teach, practice, experience, and learn to play piano all at once.
Overall Socrates offers a very narrow definition of the words teaching, practice, and experience and then treats them as true and factual and applies them to his arguments. Looking at wider or more flexible definitions for his words calls into question Socrates’ proceeding arguments.
Posted in Education, Experience, Knowledge
Tagged definitons, learning, Orli, Plato, Socrates
As early as the first line of Plato’s Meno, teaching and knowledge are placed in contrast with practice or experience, emphasizing the distinction between these two operations in both meaning and purpose. In this discussion, Socrates and Meno debate the process in which knowledge is acquired, contemplating whether understanding is obtained through instruction, application, or natural causes, which further stresses the difference between teaching and knowledge, and practice or experience.
At first glance, knowledge and experience look very similar to one another. By definition, knowledge is information and skills acquired through experience or education. Similarly, experience is defined as the knowledge or skill acquired by a period of practical experience of something. Although the two words are used in each other’s definitions and are seemingly very similar, a distinction can be made between knowledge and experience.
Knowledge emphasizes theory and the obtainment of information and ideas. Experience, on the other hand, stresses practice, or the application of knowledge over a prolonged period of time, in order to reinforce understanding of subject matter or a certain task. While further knowledge on a subject or task can be gained through experience, experience cannot be obtained through instruction. Experience comes with time, exposure, and practice. It is based off of practical application rather than supposition. Knowledge, on the other hand, is founded upon the accumulation of information through either experience or education. It can be taught unlike experience. Therefore, here lies the greatest difference between the two. While knowledge is the sum of impressions based off of sensation, experience is the act of exercising or challenging knowledge in order to obtain sensation.
I argue that teaching and knowledge, and experience or practice, though different from each other, are inextricably linked by a mutualistic relationship. While knowledge is defined as the obtainment of information and skill through either instruction or experience, practice is described as the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method. Additionally, while instruction and the obtainment of knowledge are more theoretical and abstract, the implementation of information and understanding is more concrete, in some cases even generating a physical product. In daily life, people are instructed on how to do certain things, and then later go on to practice them in order to reinforce and strengthen their ability to perform. Therefore, teaching, and the knowledge gained from such instruction, provide the foundation for practice of and later experience in the chosen subject matter or certain tasks.
Furthermore, despite their differences in meaning and purpose, knowledge and experience can both be encapsulated in the word wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, common sense, understanding, and insight. Therefore, this term encloses both knowledge and experience within itself, emphasizing not only the difference between the two words but also their mutualistic relationship.
In conclusion, the dichotomy of teaching and practice emphasizes that while teaching and knowledge, and practice and experience are very different operations, they are inextricably linked in that teaching gives people the knowledge to gain understanding and perform certain activities that are further strengthened through practice and experience.
In Meno, Meno starts a conversation with Socrates about what it means to be “good,” which morphs into a discussion of larger themes pertaining to wisdom and the acquisition of knowledge. At one point Meno gets fed up with Socrates always refuting his points and turns to what Socrates refers to as the “quibbler’s argument,” “that it’s impossible to try to find out about anything – either what you know or what you don’t know. ‘You can’t try to find out about something you know about, because you know about it, in which case there’s no point trying to find out about it; and you can’t try to find out about something you don’t know about, either, because then you don’t even know what it is you’re trying to find out about” (pg. 100-101, 80e). This argument is more commonly known as “Meno’s Paradox,” and essentially states that you can’t acquire new knowledge either because you already know said information, or you don’t know enough information to know how to get more.
Socrates found this argument to simply be a way for lazy individuals to avoid working on their own and found that “as long as you’re adventurous and don’t get tired of trying to find out about things,” you will always be able to acquire new knowledge because he believes that the acquisition of new knowledge is actually just a form of “remembering” (102, 82d).
We encounter and overcome this paradox in our everyday life by doing exactly what Socrates says, we continue to be “adventurous,” and rather than assuming that we aren’t able to garner more information due to a lack of a place to start, we find a starting point and build from there.
For example, if we wanted to learn about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, we could begin by finding an introductory book on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and build or research from there. Although it might be difficult to start finding information, there are always ways around the blockage.
A better example may be solving for a derivative or integral in calculus. Someone may hear the terms derivative or integral and really want to know what they are but neglect to try to find out because they have no idea where to start looking, however, if you took the time to learn algebra and geometry prior to learning calculus you would have a solid base and initial set of information that then allows you to learn about the derivative and the integral.
To overcome the challenge of not being able to acquire new knowledge we simply acquire general knowledge through reading, school, experience, or even just speaking with others, and from their we build our research around a targeted topic.
Posted in Ancient Philosophy, Education, Experience, Identity, Knowledge
Tagged Harry, knowledge, learning, Philosophy, teaching
Throughout the dialogue, Meno and Socrates talk about a certain problem: how can you look for virtue when you don’t know what it is? This paradox is later broadly expanded so it asks, “How can you try to find about something if you don’t know what it is, and if you did happen to come across it, how would you know that it’s the thing you’re looking for if you didn’t know what it was in the beginning?”
Posted in Ancient Philosophy, Experience, Knowledge
Tagged Jake Choi, knowledge, learning, Meno, Philosophy, Plato, Socrates