Jon Milani

Socrates as Midwife: Knowledge and the Theory of Recollection

In the Theaetetus, Plato invokes the analogy of the midwife in order to describe Socrates’ philosophizing in Athens; however, the analogy reveals as much about Plato’s theory of knowledge as it does about Socrates’ philosophical inquiry. While the midwife aids in childbirth, Socrates claims to be concerned with the labor of the soul and of testing the minds of men. Socrates insists that he cannot give birth to knowledge because the gods have barred from him participating in wisdom. However, like the midwife, Socrates helps to deliver knowledge in others; he describes its delivery as a painful and exhaustive process. The Meno is particularly exemplary of Socrates’ midwifery; however, Socrates’ discussion with Meno also reveals much about the Platonic theory of knowledge. When Meno and Socrates reach an impasse about the possibility of learning, Socrates asserts that knowledge results from the process of recollection by the immortal soul. Therewith, Socrates intimates a distinction between knowledge and true opinion, the former necessarily underpinned by reason. As the Meno demonstrates, Socrates aids in the ability of his interlocutors both to recollect knowledge and to distinguish knowledge from true opinion. Although Socrates’ argument for the recollection of the soul is somewhat unconvincing, Socrates correctly recognizes that rational inquiry (aided by his midwifery) allows both for the validation of true opinion and the attainment of knowledge.

The Theaetetus focuses primarily on discerning the nature of knowledge; however, the dialogue also provides some insight into Socrates’ method of philosophical inquiry. In his discussion withTheaetetus about knowledge, Socrates describes his task of philosophical aid as analogous to the midwife. The analogy is appropriate because Socrates’ mother was a midwife and he is familiar with the discipline. However, his purpose for describing himself as midwife is more systemic to his philosophizing. Not only does Socrates’s midwifery precludes him from attaining genuine knowledge of his own (as a midwife is precluded from conception), but he helps to deliver “fertile truth” in others. Socrates’ interlocutors are like women in child-birth, suffering the pains of labor and distress (which his philosophizing can alleviate). When Theaetetus admits that he is unable to define knowledge, Socrates suggests that Theaetetus is in discomfort because he is in a form of intellectual labour. Socrates’ midwifery also helps him to assess subsequent claims to knowledge by others: “my art is the ability to apply all possible tests to the offspring”. While Socrates insists that he cannot give birth to wisdom because he has no wisdom, many of those who associate with him are able to produce wisdom from their souls.

Although Socrates’ claim to ignorance is ironical, the technique encourages his interlocutors to make claims to knowledge that can be tested. While his midwifery often brings his interlocutors to a state of aporia, Socrates’ approach also has the effect of stimulating deeper contemplation and bringing both Socrates and his interlocutors closer to truth. The Meno is particularly demonstrative of Socrates’ midwifery; in the dialogue Socrates engages with Meno about the nature of virtue and whether virtue can be taught. At the outset of the discussion, Socrates confesses to Meno that he is completely ignorant about the meaning of virtue (nor has he met anyone else who understands it). In order to satisfy Socrates’ ignorance of virtue, Meno offers a number of unsatisfactory descriptions of virtue. Meno first claims that virtuous behaviour is that which helps friends, harms enemies, and which brings about no personal harm. When Socrates asks if this definition applies universally, Meno admits that virtuous behaviour differs among classes of people. Socrates is dissatisfied, and insists that virtue must be described universally. In so doing, Socrates implies the existence of a structure of essential knowledge. However, Meno is not privy to this conception of knowledge, and continues to describe the features of virtue (courage, moderation, wisdom, munificence, and others).

As Socrates notes, by describing the features of virtue Meno is no closer to an understanding of virtue itself; Socrates implores Meno to explain virtue as a whole, so that he may come to a true understanding of virtue. However, as the dialogue progresses Meno is consistently unable to provide a universal definition of virtue. In order to discern Socrates’ request, Meno asks Socrates to define colour and shape. While the role reversal is unorthodox, it allows Socrates to show Meno how to properly define things in the essential. Furthermore, Plato is able to demonstrate the importance of (and difficulty in) discerning essence; genuine knowledge stems from understanding something in its essence (which Plato later describes as form). While Socrates demonstrates essential definitions of colour and shape, Meno remains unable to satisfy Socrates’ desire for a universal definition of virtue. In his frustration, Meno stumbles accidentally upon the problem of the dialogue: it seems that one cannot search for what one does not know. Socrates expands on “Meno’s paradox” by asserting that one can neither search for what he knows, nor for what he does not know. “Meno’s paradox” seems to imply that learning is impossible; either one already knows, or one cannot come to know.

While Socrates acknowledges “Meno’s paradox” as a “debater’s argument”, he attempts to resolve the paradox by introducing his theory of recollection through a poetic story. Socrates suggests to Meno that the soul has learned everything, and that what is conventionally described as learning is actually the process of recollection (bypassing “Meno’s paradox”). The immortal soul is privy to all knowledge; the process of recollection allows that knowledge to be accessed. To demonstrate recollection, Socrates engages with one of Meno’s slaves about geometry. Socrates first establishes basic geometric rules: that a square is comprised of equal sides, with lines though the middle. When Socrates challenges Meno’s slave to give the size of a square exactly double the size of the original the slave is unable to satisfy his request. The slave fails to provide the correct answer; however, by asking him a subsequent set of questions, Socrates is able to help the slave to recollect his knowledge of geometry and to solve the problem. According to Socrates, the slave’s ability to come to the answer is demonstrative of the immortality of his soul and of his ability to recover knowledge from within his soul. More importantly, recollection also implies a distinction between true opinion and knowledge; while a slave might have possessed true opinions about things such as geometry, it is only by recollection that he can claim genuine knowledge.

Socrates’ argument for the immortality of the soul is somewhat unconvincing because he fails to adequately define the underlying structure of knowledge. While Plato develops the concept of the forms, Socrates seems satisfied to refer to essential knowledge in abstraction. Furthermore, Meno’s slave’s ability to solve the geometry problem may demonstrate his rational capacity rather than recollection. The Meno seems insufficient to proves that knowledge (mathematical in particular) is the result of recollection. Arguably, Socrates’ advocacy for recollection is less important than what his theory reveals about the difference between knowledge and true opinion. While true opinions seem to be in accordance with knowledge (insofar as it is correct), Socrates observes true opinions are often fleeting; they are not worth much until they are tied down by reason. Socrates seems to imply that knowledge is superior to true opinion; to know that one is correct is more important than (coincidentally) being correct. More importantly, the dialogue indicates that rational inquiry is the means by which true opinion can be validated. Such affirms the value of Socrates’ midwifery; by playing the midwife, Socrates is able to force his interlocutors both to evaluate their opinions and to give birth to knowledge verified by rational inquiry. Furthermore, Socrates’ midwifery demonstrates to his interlocutors that knowledge cannot simply be taught (a challenge to sophistic teaching).

The midwife analogy presented by Plato in the Theaetetus is appropriate; the analogy is both descriptive of Socrates’ style of philosophizing and closely related to Plato’s theory of knowledge. Socrates’ midwifery is perhaps best demonstrated in the Meno, where Socrates is particularly interested in discerning the essential qualities of virtue. Socrates’ argument to Meno implies a structure of knowledge that can be accessed through the soul. Subsequently, Socrates demonstrates both his midwifery and the theory of recollection by engaging with Meno’s slave by presenting a geometry problem. Meno’s slave is shown to have only limited knowledge of geometry; however, Socrates is able to help the slave to recollect knowledge of geometry and to find the solution. More importantly, Socrates’ midwifery necessarily draws a distinction between knowledge and true opinion; while the slave might hold true opinions of geometry, it is only through the process of recollection, Socrates claims, that he attains knowledge of geometry. Socrates’ argument for recollection and the immortal soul is somewhat unconvincing, both because he fails to adequately define the underlying structure of knowledge, and because recollection could simply be demonstrative of humans’ rational capacity. Nevertheless, Socrates’ theory is valuable because it reinforces the importance of rational inquiry as the basis for validating true opinion and attaining knowledge.