learning paradox

One of the problems to which the doctrine of anamnesis is an answer in Plato's dialogue Meno. If we do not understand something, then we cannot set about learning it, since we do not know enough to know how to begin. Teachers also come across the problem in the shape of students who cannot understand why their work deserves lower marks than that of others. The worry is echoed in philosophies of language that see the infant as a ‘little linguist’, having to tr. surrounding language back into a home medium at least equally rich in conceptual resources to the language being learned. See language of thought.