• The first selection (73a-76a on pp. 1-5) presents a view of knowledge as “recollection” that is referred to in one of Socrates’ arguments against the alternative view. Cebes’ description of a “proof” of the doctrine fits an incident in Plato’s dialogue Meno in which Socrates guides an uneducated boy toward seeing the truth of a simple geometric theorem by asking him questions. (When people speak of a “Socratic method” in education, they will often have this example in mind.)

• The alternative to Socrates’ view presented in 85d-86d (p. 5) is the more interesting for our purposes of two alternatives discussed in the dialogue. Aristotle refers to what seems to be the same view in a way that suggests it was held by some at the time and was not just an invention of Plato for the purposes of the dialogue (however, it isn’t clear who exactly held the view).

Socrates responds to this view later in 91e-95a (pp. 5-9, after the presentation of the other alternative and a kind of interlude in the dialogue). His response consists of a series of arguments against it (the first of which involves the doctrine of recollection). Think about which of his arguments seems the strongest and which the weakest.

• The final selection (97b-99c on pp. 9-11) is one of the few places in Plato’s dialogues where the character Socrates speaks of his intellectual development. It’s of interest to us because it expresses a form of dissatisfaction with materialist accounts of the mind that is somewhat different from the ones mentioned in the selection before it.