Discussion Of Virtue In Plato's 'Meno'

Improved Essays
In Plato’s “Meno”, Meno prompts Socrates to answer a question concerning virtue and whether or not it can be taught. Socrates approaches this question with another question, which requires Meno to first define virtue. He explains to Meno that his approach is wrong and in order to answer a question about the nature of something, we must first understand what that something is. Socrates and Meno then engage in a dialogue in which they inquire into two questions: what virtue is and whether it can be taught. This style of philosophy is commonly known as the “Socratic Method” in which Socrates and his interlocutors participate in a form of inquiry in which Socrates asks questions to stimulate critical thinking. Plato uses Socrates and his Socratic Method along with other theories in his dialogues “Meno” and “Phaedo” to prove what he believes is the correct way to do philosophy.
The “Meno” dialogue focuses on Meno’s attempts to define virtue while Socrates
…show more content…
Socrates’ discussion with Meno suggests that in order to gain knowledge one must first let go of any preconceived ideas and admit to our ignorance. Socrates evaluations of Meno’s attempts reveal that Meno does not know as much about the nature of virtue as he previously thought. In his first attempt he lists off different virtues that apply to different types of people: “ If you want the virtue of a woman, it’s not difficult to describe: she must manage the home well, keep the household together, and be submissive to her husband; the virtue of a child, whether boy or girl, is another thing altogether, and so is that of an elderly man – if you want that – or if you want that of a free man or a slave” (60-61). Socrates refutes this definition by pointing out that although Meno is able to give examples of what he believes are virtues, he fails to point

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In Plato’s three works Crito, Apology, and Euthyphro, Socrates’ conception of virtue and pursuit of knowledge about virtue, leads him to question and in some cases reject the ideas of others. Examples that show this are: Socrates discussion with Crito, his questioning of Meletus in the Apology, his speech to the jury before and after his conviction, and in his discussion with Euthyphro about what is pious. The teachings of these three works seem to go hand and hand with one another, with the teaching of the Crito being a culmination of the teachings of Euthyphro and Apology. If one were to read Apology and Euthyphro without reading the Crito, one may not understand the teachings of the formers since the Crito gives practice to the teachings…

    • 1839 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates examines the definition of virtue once again and proves to Meno that he has not given him a clear definition of virtue because justice is a part of virtue. Socrates states that instead of Meno defining virtue as a whole he is basically acknowledging that anything done with a part of virtue is…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plato's Virtue Analysis

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Plato taught that every person should focus on the virtue that was most necessary for ones position in society. The most noble of virtues was justice to one’s self, or rather justice is to act in a manner that reflects what is inherent in one’s soul. True satisfaction, according to Plato, can be found in preforming the task to which you are most suited, wither it was what you wanted to-do or not. If every citizen were to place the needs of the state above one’s own happiness then as a collective the state and those in it would be conforming to an order that is the…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Meno’s paradox also popularly known as the ‘debater’s argument’ is one of the widely read dialogs by philosophers. The paradox is a Socratic dialogue authored by Plato. The paradox attempts to find out the actual definition of virtue. The main speakers or characters in this dialogue are Meno, and Socrates and the paradox arise as they try to discuss human virtues. In this dialogue, Meno puts forward numerous hypothetical definitions of human virtues, that is, arete.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates is known for his ability to question others about their definitions of a specific virtue. Throughout his questioning, Socrates takes the definitions given to him and uses logic to show that the definitions do not hold. In one of these instances Meno is questioned by Socrates and fails to produce a satisfactory definition for virtue. When Socrates defeats Meno’s definition, Meno questions Socrates motive. Socrates claims to be simply inquiring the definition of virtue.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the following I will summarize Socrates ' discussion with Meno: whether virtue can be taught. The argument begins as Meno asks Socrates whether virtue can be taught. Socrates answers by reminding Meno that Meno 's own countrymen, the Thessalians, have recently gained a reputation for wisdom, due chiefly to the rising fame of Gorgias. Gorgias, Socrates says, has taught people "To give a bold and grand answer to any question you may be asked, as experts are likely to do." Athenians, on the other hand, do not claim to be able to answer such questions, says Socrates, noting that he himself is certainly among the ignorant.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is difficult to understand what virtue truly is and if everyone is born with it and if it develops over time. Plato brings this question to the forefront in Protagoras and Meno. During a particular discussion, Socrates questions Protagoras on whether virtue can truthfully be taught. Protagoras then provides admirable evidence proving that virtue can be educated to all human beings. Protagoras does this by providing a number of examples backing up his beliefs.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates claims to have no knowledge of these types of things, and concedes that if he has any knowledge at all it is of worthless or trivial things. He claims that his purpose for initiating interactions with these reputedly knowledgeable people is first and foremost to prove the oracle wrong, because he believes he really knows nothing. If he can successfully prove the oracle wrong by finding someone who is indeed wiser or more knowledgeable than him, then he will be presented with the opportunity to learn something worthwhile from the person he is engaging, which is his second purpose for these interactions. Unfortunately, this proves to be an unsuccessful method of learning for Socrates because he does not actually learn the fine and good things he has sought to learn; instead he has learned that the reputedly knowledgeable people are merely ignorant of their own ignorance. He determines that they are only truly capable of giving him examples of specific instances where actions seem to showcase the thing that he is seeking knowledge of—such the examples of piety that Euthyphro describes; he also discerns that they are incapable of giving him a definitive definition that is not easily shown to be a contradiction or fallacious in some other way.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates has falsified all of the interpretations of the word that Meno provided him with and decides he wants to search, with Meno, for the true definition of the word. Socrates says to Meno, “So now I do not know what virtue is; perhaps you knew before you contacted me, but now you are certainly like one who does not know. Nevertheless, I want to examine and seek together with you what it may be” (Plato 70). In saying this, Socrates is admitting to Meno that he is unsure of what virtue means and, in fact, deciding that Meno does not know either. He asks Meno to join him in his pursuit of the true definition of the word, and in response, Meno presents his paradox.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    While we have seen that Socrates is good at rejecting incorrect arguments, it is equally important to be able to identify correct ones. The Meno begins with Meno, a friend of Scorates, asking Socrates if virtue can be taught or is it an inborn quality that some posses from birth and others never will. Socrates and his friend then begin to perform an investigation into the nature and form of virtue. When they arrive at the question of how one may know and recognize virtue when it is found, despite not having knowledge of what it is beforehand Meno’s Paradox arises. While both Meno and Scorates agree that virtue is something beneficial within the soul, they struggle to answer how it is one comes to acquire virtue in the first place, whether…

    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this essay, I will demonstrate how Socrates ' response to this question was successful in answering the paradox. Meno’s Paradox Before Socrates ' answer can be understood, Meno 's Paradox must first be introduced. Meno begins by asking whether virtue is…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper I will argue that Socrates’s claim at 96c-d of the Meno that virtue cannot be taught because there are no teachers of virtue is not valid. Specifically, I will show Socrates reasoning and claim as to why there are no teachers of virtue, which means virtue cannot be taught. Then I will demonstrate why Socrates’s reasoning is false due to a missed detail in his argument. I conclude Socrates’s reasoning behind his arguments are mostly logical and sound, however he made the mistake of forgetting to mention an important detail that is detrimental to his argument. Socrates claims that virtue cannot be taught because there are no teachers of virtue at 96c-d due to various leaps of logic and reason.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The dialogue between Socrates and Meno revolve around a fundamental issue: whether virtue can be taught. However, Socrates indicates that it is unfeasible to answer this question without knowing what virtue really is. He is interested in knowing the intrinsic nature of a virtue and what makes all instances of virtue, virtuous. In other words, the reason why something is a virtue. Although Meno produces his first faulty definition when he says, “If you want the virtue of man, it is easy to say that a man’s virtue consists of being able to manage public affairs…, and be submissive to her husband” (71e), it still does not answer Socrates’ question.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Argument for the Immortality of the Soul When Socrates and Meno are halted in their argument by a paradox, Socrates proposes a new idea that will solve the paradox and continue their conversation. He states that the soul is immortal and it has learned everything in past lives. Thus, what men call learning is actually a process of recollection. I will first be giving context as to how this idea came into the dialogue with Meno. Next, I will explain how he puts the same idea forward in Phaedo and then noting the differences between the two dialogues.…

    • 1885 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Can Virtue Be Taught Essay

    • 1214 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Socrates defines virtue as knowledge, and if virtue is a kind of knowledge then it can be taught. In Meno and several other dialogues, Socrates makes arguments on the subject of virtue. Of the many different arguments Socrates examines, he seems to focus the most on the way virtue is received, but more specifically if one is born virtuous, and if virtue could be taught. These different types of virtues are also known as moral virtue and intellectual virtue (Nicomachean Ethics). It is hard to say if one is born already a virtuous.…

    • 1214 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays