The Squares Symbol Analysis

The squares that Socrates draws in the dirt during his discussion of geometry with Meno’s slave slowly come to represent his conception of the educational process. To show Meno that it’s possible to make intellectual discoveries simply by “recollecting” knowledge that the soul has already “acquired,” Socrates calls forth his slave and starts asking him questions about geometry—questions based on a collection of squares he draws on the ground. Although the slave has never studied geometry, he finds himself capable of answering Socrates’s questions, partly because of the way Socrates guides him through the impromptu quiz. And though Socrates never gives the slave any kind of information, he does ask well-paced questions that subtly lead the young man to the correct answers. This, Socrates upholds, is evidence of the fact that a person simply needs to “recollect” the knowledge his soul has already gained, since all souls are immortal and have thus already experienced and learned everything a person might ever want to know. By guiding the slave through this demonstration, then, Socrates allows the squares to represent the very process of intellectual inquiry, which can be productive regardless of whether or not a person has any kind of formal education or training. In this way, the squares represent Socrates’s belief that humans don’t learn brand new information, but simply need help accessing the knowledge their souls have already collected—a viewpoint that showcases the important role teachers play as guides capable of “stir[ring] up” knowledge that might otherwise lie dormant within their students.