Anamnesis (Greek: αναμνησις = recollection, reminiscence) is a term used in medicine, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and religion. This article is about the field and science of medical practice and health care. ... Socrates (central bare-chested figure) about to drink hemlock as mandated by the court. ... Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud. ...

Philosophy

In philosophy, Plato uses the term anamnesis in the epistemological theory that he develops in his dialogues Meno and Phaedo. Socrates (central bare-chested figure) about to drink hemlock as mandated by the court. ... Plato (ancient Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... According to Plato, Knowledge is what is both true and believed, though not all that is both true and believed counts as knowledge. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Meno

In Meno, Plato's character (and old teacher) Socrates is challenged by Meno with what has become known as the sophistic paradox, or the paradox of knowledge: Socrates (Greek: Σωκράτης, invariably anglicized as , Sǒcratēs; 470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ...

Meno: And how are you going to search for [the nature of virtue] when you don't know at all what it is, Socrates? Which of all the things you don't know will you set up as target for your search? And even if you actually come across it, how will you know that it is that thing which you don't know?^[1]

In other words, if you don't know what the knowledge looks like, you won't recognise it when you see it, and if you do know what it looks like, then you don't need to look for it. Either way, then, there's no point trying to gain knowledge.

Socrates' response is to develop his theory of anamnesis. He suggests that the soul is immortal, being repeatedly incarnated; knowledge is actually in the soul from eternity (86b), but each time the soul is incarnated its knowledge is forgotten in the shock of birth. What we think of as learning, then is actually the bringing back of what we'd forgotten. (Once it has been brought back it is true belief, to be turned into genuine knowledge by understanding.) And thus Socrates (and Plato) sees himself, not as a teacher, but as a midwife, aiding with the birth of knowledge that was already there in the student. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self-aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... Look up Incarnation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Incarnation, which literally means enfleshment, refers to the conception, and live birth of a sentient creature (generally human) who is the material manifestation of an entity or force whose original nature is immaterial. ... Midwifery is a blanket term used to describe a number of different types of health practitioners, other than doctors, who provide prenatal care to expecting mothers, attend the birth of the infant and provide postnatal care to the mother and infant. ...

The theory is illustrated by Socrates asking a slave boy questions about geometry. At first the boy gives the wrong answer; when this is pointed out to him, he is puzzled, but by asking questions Socrates is able to help him to reach the true answer. This is intended to show that, as the boy wasn't told the answer, he could only have reached the truth by recollecting what he had already known but forgotten.

Phaedo

In Phaedo, Plato develops his theory of anamnesis, in part by combining it with his theory of Forms. First, he tells us more about how anamnesis can be achieved; whereas in Meno we're given nothing but the method of questioning with which Socrates proceeds, in Phaedo Plato presents us with a way of living our lives so that we can overcome the misleading nature of the body through katharsis (Greek: καθαρσις; “cleansing” (from guilt or defilement), “purification”). The body and its senses are the source of error; knowledge can only be regained through the use of our reason, contemplating things with the soul (see 66 b–d). An idea (Greek: ιδέα) is a specific thought which arises in the mind. ... Catharsis, Latin from the Greek Katharsis meaning purification or cleansing (also literally from the ancient Greek gerund καθαίρειν transliterated as kathairein to purify, purge, and adjective katharos pure or clean ancient and modern Greek: καθαρός), is a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter or...

Secondly, he makes clear that genuine knowledge, as opposed to mere true belief, is distinguished by its content. One can only know eternal truths, for they are the only truths that can have been in the soul from eternity. Though it can be very useful to have a true belief about, say, the best way to get from London to Oxford, such a belief can't count as knowledge; how could our souls have known for all eternity a fact about places that have existed for less than 2,000 years?

Religion

"Anamnesis" is used in some churches in reference to the Eucharist. This has its origin in Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "Do this in memory of me" (Greek "Τουτο ποιειτε εις την εμην αναμνησιν",^[2] and can refer either to the memorial character of the Eucharist itself^[3] or to the part of the service where the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus are remembered.^[4] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... For the death metal band from Sweden, see Eucharist (band) The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfilment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament,[1] to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... According to gospel, the Last Supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his death. ... The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. ... The resurrection of Jesus is an event in the New Testament in which God raised him from the dead[1] after his death by crucifixion. ... The Christian doctrine of the Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven in the presence of His disciples, following his resurrection. ...

For example, in the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, the anamnesis begins with the words: The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ...

"Remembering, therefore, this command of the Saviour [i.e., to eat and drink in remembrance of him], and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming..." ^[5]

This phrase precedes the epiklesis, when the priest asks God to send the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. In Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern-rite Catholic churches, and formerly in Latin-rite (i. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ...

In some western Christian traditions, on the other hand, the anamnesis comes after the consecration of the bread and the wine.^[6] Western Christianity refers to Catholicism and Protestantism. ...

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church says of the anamnesis: "This memorial prayer of remembrance recalls for the worshiping community past events in their tradition of faith that are formative for their identity and self-understanding" and makes particular mention of its place in "the various eucharistic prayers".^[7]

Notes

1. ^ Meno 80d
2. ^ Luke 22:19 [1], 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ [4]
5. ^ [5]
6. ^ [6]
7. ^ [7]

The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... (Redirected from 1 Corinthians) See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ...

References

• Plato Phaedo, 1911: edited with introduction and notes by Hohn Burnet (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
• Jane M. Day 1994 Plato's Meno in Focus (London: Routledge) — contains an introduction and full translation by Day, together with papers on Meno by various philosophers
• Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum [edd], An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians (New York, Church Publishing Incorporated)
• britannica.com
• webster.com