Recollection and knowledge

pages: 207-218

Abstract

Ancient Greek ethics held in its heritage contradictory relation in understanding of virtue as a key notion on which were founded polis and politics. Sharpening and revealing of this contradiction was mostly contribution of the sophistic movement, which by rational gauge observed philosophically not enough clarified topics of the Ancient Greek worldview. To solve contradiction arisen from traditional viewpoint premised on the principle that virtue cannot be taught and stand­point that virtue is connected to knowledge, Plato introduces notion of recollection. Recollection becomes focal point in Plato’s overcoming of this contradiction. He analyses two shapes of recollection, universal, but only potential and the active one, that leads to the theory of ideas and defines what is virtue. Keywords: recollection, knowledge, virtue (arete), Ancient Greek ethics, theory of ideas