Plato's Dialogues and Philosophical Criticisms: Meno, Phaedo, and The Republic

The Meno Dialogue: Socrates and the Theory of Recollection

The Meno dialogue features Socrates as the protagonist. The setting is Meno, where Socrates attempts to demonstrate that the theory of recollection is correct. The Sophists argued that the acquisition of wisdom was impossible (the transition from NOT KNOWING to KNOWING).

The dialogue presents a contradiction to the theory it exposes. First, it introduces reminiscence, then asks for a demonstration. Socrates calls upon a slave to teach him mathematics, thereby demonstrating the possibility of acquiring wisdom. He draws a square and poses a question:

How much should the side of the new square measure to have twice the surface area of the first? (See pictures)

The slave found the solution on the third attempt. Herein lies the criticism of this dialogue: Socrates has been hinting at the solution throughout the problem, suggesting the possibility that Socrates himself, indirectly, provided the answer to the slave.

The Phaedo Dialogue: Immortality of the Soul

In the Phaedo Dialogue, Phaedo tells Socrates' disciples that their master has only one day left to live. Plato, seeking to comfort the group, discusses the immortality of the soul. To explain this, prior knowledge of the history is needed.

Note: Recall that Plato assumes there are absolute truths that we can achieve, contrasting with the idea that we must trust our senses.

Plato demonstrates, in a way, the immortality of the soul. By determining that his approach is true, he implies that it will be true from any point of view. One cannot prove the falsity of this theory, but it is hypothesized that Plato attempts to present it as true.

The criticism here is that everyone thinks differently, so one cannot accept it as an absolute truth. The ideas of each object differ between people. For example, consider the word CAT versus the idea of a GATO (Cat); the idea of a cat that we hold in our minds depends on the experiences we have had with that object.

Criticisms of Plato's Republic

2.3. Criticisms of Plato (Focus on The Republic)

One major criticism of Plato's vision was: What if the philosophers could not agree?

As we see in The Republic, the ideal republic is achieved when a philosopher becomes governor. The philosopher king is familiar with the truth, and thus, knowing the only truth, which is the same for everyone, because the truth is possessed by just one. This is how Plato attempts to dismiss the criticism.

Further criticisms target the Platonic authoritarian society, which does not respect individual freedom. However, Plato argues that when decisions are made by a just ruler who knows all truths, these decisions are the most concrete and infallible.

In reality, we would not know whether the ruler would be telling the truth or lying in their actions. Therefore, instead of concentrating power in one person, power must be divided to ensure control and avoid problems associated with absolute power.