dialogue takes an epistemological turn when the interlocutors begin to discuss the fundamental nature of knowledge. The general question asked is how one can claim to know something when one does not even know what knowledge is. Via the Socratic method, it is shown that the answer to the question posed is innateness – one possesses a priori knowledge. This is derived from Socrates' belief that one's soul existed in past lives and knowledge is transferred from those lives to the current one. "These [ideas] were revealed in a former state of existence, and are recovered by reminiscence (anamnesis) or association from sensible things" . The claim is that one does not need to know what knowledge is before gaining knowledge, but rather one has a wealth of knowledge before ever gaining any experience. Contemporary parallels There is contemporary work related to the questions of accounting for the gap between experience and knowledge, explaining the sources of knowledge, and how much knowledge is possessed prior to experience or without conscious awareness. In particular, many areas in contemporary linguistics and psychological research have relevance to these epistemological questions. Linguistic analysis has provided some evidence for innate cognitive capacities for language, and there are many areas of cognitive psychology that yield data from investigations into sources of knowledge. In addition, some claims in the Meno have connections to current research on perception and long-term memory (LTM). Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Chomskyan linguistics (an inclusive, though perhaps informal, label for the theories and methodologies of linguistic study spearheaded by Noam Chomsky, meant to encompass his extensive work and influence in the field) includes everything from Chomsky's earliest work in transformational grammar to more recent work in the Minimalist Program. More exactly, it is the study of the structure of language, or grammar. Chomskyan linguistics is defined by a particular theoretical foundation and methodological approach that sets it apart from other linguistic perspectives, such as those described by functional grammar or structuralism (per Leonard Bloomfield) for example. This particular approach to the study of language is also often referred to as Generative linguistics, which is attributed to Chomsky and his early generative grammar work. Universal grammar There are several concepts important to the Chomskyan (or generativist) approach to linguistics. The most fundamental of these ideas is the theory of universal grammar (UG). Simply put, and as implied by the name,