Anamnesis (philosophy)

Anamnesis (including medical history, Greek ἀνάμνησις anamnesis "memory" ) is a central concept in Plato's epistemology and psychology, according to all the knowledge in the immortal soul is always already present, but is forgotten at birth. The human intellect creates no new knowledge, but only remembers the forgotten. Thus all knowledge is based on memory. The knowledge of the soul is indeed always potentially available, but it usually has no access to it. An access arises when the forgotten knowledge is being recalled due to external impulses back into consciousness. Through the impetus that gives a teacher specifically, the soul of the learner is reminiscent of something you actually already familiar with. Plato discussed the concept of anamnesis in the dialogue Meno, Phaedo, and Phaedrus.

The origin of the latent knowledge situate Plato according to his doctrine of ideas in the transcendent realm of ideas. With his concept of anamnesis he gave impetus to the philosophical discussion of the problem of an a priori - from sensory experience independent - knowledge.

  • 4.1 antiquity
  • 4.2 Modern Times

Anamnesis in the soul of Plato

Requirements

The conception of the soul, which can explain and justify Plato in his literary dialogues designed by his teacher Socrates, can be equated with his own position. According to this view, the human soul is immortal, it exists both before the emergence of the body as well as after his death. According to the doctrine of metempsychosis, it is not naturally associated with a particular body, but inhabited and animated in succession many different body type, so making numerous earthly life by. In the time between two earthly life she is bodiless and stays in an otherworldly area.

Anamnesis as regaining a " innate knowledge"

At the time of its immateriality, the soul is given the opportunity at a " super-celestial place " ideas to consider the absolute, independent of time existing archetypes of all individual things. Since this perception depends on the ideas themselves and not to the them just like objects of the senses, it is not fraught with uncertainty and the shortcomings of the deceptive senses. Rather, it is an immediate and error-free perception of the real being, the actual reality. The objects of this perception are entirely unchangeable circumstances; contingent facts are not part of this " innate knowledge" of the soul. During their stay on earth and in the underworld, the soul has but also gained knowledge of many individual contingent things, and this knowledge remains latent in her. The consideration of the contingent individual things can memories of the ideas whose images are the things cause in the soul.

During an earthly life the soul has no direct access to the idea of ​​knowledge that they possessed in a body before this stay. However, it remains latent in her present, and she basically retains the ability to remember. This ability is activated when the soul receives an impulse that causes them to search for lost knowledge. The impetus may come from sense impressions that require a conceptual interpretation, or even a for investigating stimulating conversation. Since nature is a unified whole that is familiar to the soul in its entirety, each observation and each note can be such a kick-off and trigger a memory of a certain forgotten detail. From this memory from access to other details, and ultimately to all temporary jobs lost knowledge can be gained. The only requirement is the necessary perseverance. All knowledge, all learning is nothing but recollection of the Platonic Socrates. The assumption that all learning is a rediscovery, a reactivation of existing knowledge to explain how one comes to something as seemingly to look completely unknown and to find, even if you do not even seem to know to start looking what their goal is. In particular, Plato wants to understand the concept of anamnesis, how to advance in the world of the senses from the knowledge of non- sensuous.

Controversial is the hypothesis of Dominic Scott, according to which Plato by human thought distinguishes between two types of information processing: the directed exclusively to the idea of anamnesis, which remains exclusively reserved to the philosopher and the ordinary, non-philosophical analysis of sensations that any reliance on anamnesis needs but is based on concepts that were obtained only by means of sensory experience. The result is a striking discontinuity between philosophical and nichtphilosophischem thinking. The opposing view is the traditional doctrine of the historian of philosophy, Thomas Williams and Charles H. Kahn defend against Scott. According to her, there is, for Plato, between philosophical thinking and nichtphilosophischem continuity and anamnesis plays a more or less significant role in all processes of thought.

The anamnesis in the context of a philosophical discussion is not a single event, with the step is performed from ignorance to knowledge, but one based on arguments of discursive knowledge process where Plato's dialectic is applied. In this case, a mere right opinion transformed into understanding, through which you can be accountable. However, Plato referred to in another context the final step of a process of gaining knowledge, insight into the world of ideas, as "suddenly".

Anamnesis and the pre-existence and immortality of the soul

From the ability to anamnesis, that it is actually present, leads to the conclusion only the existence of a knowledge subject before the emergence of the body but not the soul's immortality. The immortality derives from Plato other considerations. The assumption that the soul has brought her knowledge from a prenatal existence, he adds in the Phaedo to the effect that the soul after death return back to the disembodied mode of existence in which they had held prior to its connection with the body. Entry into a body, and death as an exit from this body are opposing movements that succeeded each other cyclically. Thus, the anamnesis appears as part of an overall model of the theory of the soul, which is based on the idea of immortality and rebirth.

In the Phaedo, Socrates argues against the view that the soul is a harmony or mood, a harmonious blend ratio of certain properties, on the right combination is based the existence of the living body. Such a soul would necessarily be summed up as well as the body, with his death and the mixing ratio of its properties ends, originated in the time and transient. Socrates points out that such an understanding of the soul is incompatible with the concept of anamnesis.

Demonstration of the anamnesis in the Meno dialogue

To demonstrate the anamnesis in the Meno, Socrates leads a slave who has no mathematical school knowledge, to solve a geometric problem (doubling of the square ). Here, the philosopher takes great care not to teach but to encourage the slaves only by questions about their own thoughts, which eventually lead to an understanding of the geometric facts. Thus Socrates wants to prove his claim that the knowledge is based on a prenatal insight that either has ever owned or acquired at a certain time before their current life of a slave.

An alleged knowledge of the slave who believes he can double by doubling one side of the square, the area turns out to be wrong. The insight into this error shows him his ignorance. So he gets into an aporia ( perplexity ). However, by further questioning he reaches the solution: The diagonal of the given square is the site of the search. This suggests that Socrates is the memory process; the slave had set out only his own ideas and was despite his initial ignorance capable of correct ideas that were in it to bring out of himself. Thus, if it were not about teaching, but about memory. By appropriate excitation, a non- knower could be made to himself to find access to a hidden in him knowledge which is not entstamme the world of experience of his present existence.

The demonstration in the Meno illustrates how Plato imagines the knowledge gained through anamnesis. The procedure of the Platonic Socrates ( Socratic method, maieutics ) aims to trigger the process of memory. His insisting Rendes questions helps his interlocutor to give up preconceived opinions, and to remember how it behaves in truth. Here, an existing, but first the consciousness inaccessible knowledge is exposed.

The question of the truth claim

The argument of Plato focuses on already to show the knowledge as something in the soul equipped. As the soul is reached in the prenatal state and to where the beginning of this knowledge, is not elaborated. This advances the concept of anamnesis - a finished elaborated doctrine of anamnesis offer the dialogues not - in the vicinity of the Platonic myths. Plato puts in the dialogues myths as didactic means, but are presenting their truth in the literal sense as certain. This raises the question of how far and in what sense Plato raised a claim to truth of the matters raised in the dialogues consequences of the anamnesis thesis. In go the views apart in research.

A number of scholars believe that the repatriation of the cognitive ability of an autonomous prenatal existence of the soul is only one argument, see the truth of which remain open, or was at all only metaphorically and metaphysically not understand. This view is argued that Plato reveals reluctance to vote mythical philosophical statements; in other contexts he evades the question of the truth of the myth and avoids a commitment to a literal understanding. It is also pointed out that the adoption of a prenatal knowledge of the soul, the question of its initial emergence not answered, but the problem is only shifted in time so that threatens one of infinite regress. Theodor Ebert thinks Plato 'll discuss the re - argument only reminder of dialogue participants, but not even stand behind it. He considered that learning is not really as a recollection, but he was doing just to make a comparison between the process of re- remembering, where you first have to realize that you have forgotten something, and a learning process that presupposes that one has understood that it is still in ignorance. Sang- In Lee sees the essence of the concept of anamnesis in the epistemological principle that the knowledge of a single, complex issue will always be obtained by resorting to an existing general insight.

Against such " demythologizing " interpretations but, the fact that in the Phaedo an interlocutor leads the recollection as an argument for a body free existence of the soul, so for a metaphysical position that Plato's own conviction corresponds. With an understanding of the anamnesis as mere metaphor or a teaching aid such an argument would not make sense. The anamnesis concept is also expressly stated in the Phaedo of Socrates as opinion; therefore it can be assumed that Plato approves.

Because of the close link between the anamnesis hypothesis and the theory of ideas could only be imposed for the recollection a claim to truth, when the truth of the doctrine of ideas was provided. The research debate on the question of whether Plato has consistently represented a coherent view of what doctrine of ideas or changed its position, thus also relates to the importance of the anamnesis in his philosophy. If he, as some researchers believe, has in his last creative period abandoned the idea of ​​conception or at least seen a serious need for revision to this had an impact on his relationship with the anamnesis hypothesis.

Reception

Antiquity

As Aristotle in his youth was still a follower of Plato's doctrine of the immortality of the soul, he wrote the dialogue Eudemus or On the Soul, in which he defended the theory of anamnesis. He likened the entrance of the soul into the body with a disease and pointed out that illness leads in some cases to a loss of memory. Since the body free life of the soul is by nature, life in the body, however, contrary to nature and extent of a disease comparable, it is evident that the soul lose their knowledge at birth. Later Aristotle held to the concept of cognition on the basis of an already given knowledge that: In his Analytica posteriora in which he explained his methods and theory of science, he began his remarks with the words: each instruction and each intelligent acquisition of knowledge is created from existing knowledge. This applies both for the mathematical sciences as well as for all the other, both for deduction and induction. Any argument must start from something already known. However, Aristotle was not associated with the pre-existing knowledge on the ideas, as he rejected the idea of ​​teaching and the individual immortality of the soul after its separation from the Platonic Academy.

The ancient Platonists followed the opinion of Plato. In other schools of philosophy ( Peripatetics, Stoics, Epicureans ), however, found the concept of anamnesis no response, since these directions represented neither the doctrine of ideas or immortality of the soul; there alternative models for explaining learning processes have been developed.

In the 2nd century the Mittelplatoniker Maximus of Tyre wrote a lecture entitled Whether the findings are memories. In it he posed the Platonic anamnesis concept, described the conditions and forms of remembrance and illustrated his remarks with examples from the history of philosophy and the poetry of Homer.

Among the Christians of late antiquity, opinions were divided. The writer Arnobius the Elder turned in his treatise Adversus nationes ( "Against the Pagans " ) against the theory of anamnesis, where he recited a cave history as a thought experiment, building on Plato's Allegory of the Cave. He envisioned an enclosed habitable space in which a single person grows up, which is powered by an ever silent nurse with food. When the Grown Up 's grown in complete solitude, he comes out for the first time and is questioned about his background and life story and about him completely unknown things. He proves to be helpless, especially since he can not talk. With this thought experiment Arnobius wanted to show that the soul is by nature Concerning operative does not have a vested knowledge that is latent in her, and to which they could remember. However, overlooked Arnobius that the " late antique Kaspar Hauser " the questions which are asked can not answer because he does not understand, do not even realize that there are questions that are addressed to him, and that due to his responses are. Since, according to Plato's concept of linguistic knowledge is no content of prenatal idea knowledge of the soul, the thought experiment the anamnesis theory can not be refuted with a Sprachunkundigen. Strongly oriented Neoplatonic Christians as Nemesio of Emesa and Boethius accepted the pre-existence of the soul and also the anamnesis.

Modern Times

In the early modern philosophers such as René Descartes, John Locke and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and the " Cambridge Platonists " Henry More and Ralph Cudworth discussed the extent to which a priori knowledge is possible. Thus they continued the discussion of the issues raised by Plato question of a non-derived from sense perception, but the human spirit inherent knowledge. Descartes rejected the anamnesis from their original Platonic form, but took the soul indigenous truths to which they could remember. In his view, there are countless details concerning the figures, the number, movement and the like, the truth is so obvious and so much in my nature that I, when I discover for the first time to meet my nothing new, but I only to remind of what I already knew long ago, or to pay attention the first time on something that had long been in me, although I have not previously addressed the view of my mind to it. Leibniz rejected the metaphysical idea of anamnesis, since it leads to an infinite regress, but accepted the theory of anamnesis as the logical a priori.

In modern times the anamnesis has awakened from the aspect of awareness of the unconscious philosophical interest; as justification for the metaphysical claim a body- free existence of the soul it is philosophically no longer considered. To the metaphysical aspect of Kant already had noticed, Plato had been transferred through pure reason and which enabled her mathematical insights into an amazement that fortriß him to the exalted thoughts, all this knowledge is not for new acquisitions in our earthly life, but for mere Wiederaufweckung to keep far earlier ideas. In it should show forth his philosophical spirit, for a mere mathematician would not have fallen into such amazement. Hegel rejected the anamnesis, insofar as it is as a reproduction of an idea that had been earlier, construed. But he accepted them in the sense that the spirit that captures the universal ( the genus ), not something alien extrinsic receives, but goes in and comes to consciousness of his inner life, his own being. This is a " memory" in an etymological sense: self- made- internally, introspection; this is the deep thought sense of the word. Even Schelling drew on the Platonic concept and transformed it. He wrote in 1827, it is the task of philosophy, let go I of consciousness with consciousness to itself. In this respect, the philosophy of the ego is nothing more than a history, memory of what it has done and suffered in his general ( his preindividual ) Being. This result of his reflections agree in some respects with known Platonic views match. Plato's theory was, however, partly a different meaning and is not without a certain Zuthat of Schwärmerischem.

Karl Popper sees the anamnesis hypothesis too optimistic epistemology. She was very optimistic, as they will inspire to learn, to research and to discover and also a slave opens up access to knowledge. Thus, it stands opposite the pessimistic epistemology of the cave allegory that only a select few could reach the state of true knowledge. The anamnesis theory that led to the revolutionary and utopian rationalism of Descartes, the theory of the cave allegory, however, to believe in authority and tradition. Both did not correspond to the truth, but these lie between them. While meet the assumption of innate knowledge to, but is the anamnesis theory erroneous than the pessimistic allegory of the cave, because there is no criterion of truth, but only signs of error (critical rationalism ).

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