What is the churchs stance on plato's knowledge is recollection?

[jpk1313]

frome wikipedia:The Platonic doctrine of recollection or anamnesis, is the idea that we are born possessing all knowledge and our realization of that knowledge is contingent on our discovery of it. Whether the doctrine should be taken literally or not is a subject of debate. The soul is trapped in the body. The soul once lived in “Reality”, but got trapped in the body. It once knew everything, but forgot it. The goal of Recollection is to get back to true Knowledge. To do this, one must overcome the body. This doctrine implies that nothing is ever learned, it is simply recalled or remembered. In short it says that all that we know already comes pre-loaded on birth and our senses enable us to identify and recognize the stratified information in our mind.

It would seem after a read through of plato’s arguement for knowledge as recollection that it shows the idea of reincarnation yet if you modify it starting with the human soul being created in the image of God and since God knows everything we in turn know everything it just needs to be remembered. What does the Church have to say about this? I’ve never come accross any mention of it from any theologians or philosophers outside of plato.

 

[Bluegoat]

This isn’t a subject I know a lot about, but many of the neoplatonic philosophers also subscribed to this view and rejected the Aristotelian position. It would be interesting to see if some of the Christian theologians who were really influenced by those were inclined to that view - maybe the pseudo-Dionysus, or Eriugena? Or other Eastern Fathers?

I know some of Augustine’s thinking could be considered to tend in that direction - he discusses memory in a few places including the Confessions, so that might be a place to start.

But part of the reason Plato espoused that view is that he did not think that one could gain any real information from the realm of the unreal and changing matter. Since Christians do not understand the material world in quite the same way, even the Platonist Christians, I suspect this view would always be somewhat modified.

 

[Reprobus]

St. Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine Book II Chapters 32 and 38 might interest you. They are not quite the same thing but may express similar ideas.

The Chapter titles are:

1. Valid logical sequence is not devised but only observed by man

and

1. The science of numbers not created, but only discovered, by man

 

[dz102789]

I would say that it is pretty much bunk. The Church teaches that the soul is the form of the body (as taught by Aquinas), and that it is directly created by God at the moment of conception. The intellect and the will are what make a human being in the image and likeness of God, not innate knowledge of all things. Aquinas would say that we are essentially a blank slate in terms of knowledge because our soul is meant for a body and therefore we attain knowledge through sense data, not innate knowledge. Innate knowlege is reserved for pure spirits (angel + of course God).

In Christ,

Dave

 

[Bluegoat]

I would say that it is pretty much bunk. The Church teaches that the soul is the form of the body (as taught by Aquinas), and that it is directly created by God at the moment of conception. The intellect and the will are what make a human being in the image and likeness of God, not innate knowledge of all things. Aquinas would say that we are essentially a blank slate in terms of knowledge because our soul is meant for a body and therefore we attain knowledge through sense data, not innate knowledge. Innate knowlege is reserved for pure spirits (angel + of course God).

In Christ,

Dave

This is one theological position found in the CC. It is not the only one - the Augustinian approach is equally valid, older, and has been a major influence on Catholic thought until the present day. Despite his popularity, Thomas is not the only theologian found in the CC, and all did not give way before him.

 

[dz102789]

This is one theological position found in the CC. It is not the only one - the Augustinian approach is equally valid, older, and has been a major influence on Catholic thought until the present day. Despite his popularity, Thomas is not the only theologian found in the CC, and all did not give way before him.

Actually, I would argue that this is the only theological position of the Church, because St. Thomas’ definition of the soul is the one the Church uses in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But I do agree that there are many great minds in the history of our Church other than St. Thomas.

In Christ,

Dave