meno plato summary

“The next point to consider seems to be whether virtue is knowledge or something else,”, To grasp what Socrates is saying, it will be helpful to understand the first rhetorical move he makes regarding virtue, goodness, and knowledge. MENO. Yes, Socrates had met him, but he has a bad memory, and has forgotten what Gorgias said. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Having established that there is “no difference” between the ways in which men and women are healthy or strong, Socrates makes an important rhetorical move when he points out that, although Meno suggests that there’s a difference between the ways in which men and women are virtuous, this difference simply consists of two manifestations of the same qualities: “justice and moderation.” As such, men and women actually, “Since then the virtue of all is the same,”, Having finally accepted that “the virtue of all is the same,” Meno struggles to pinpoint an all-encompassing definition of virtue. What’s more, it’s worth noting that this outlook allows for an interpretation in which Socrates and Meno can be seen as virtuous even if they haven’t figured out what virtue is. Since Anytus doesn’t think the Sophists teach virtue, he posits that Athenians have learned how to be virtuous from their fathers and elders. Hypothesis Analogy Second Half The Forms ~~~~~ Meno's Paradox: How will you aim … In turn, it becomes rather obvious why it’s seemingly impossible to teach virtue, since only the gods would be capable of doing so. Instant downloads of all 1379 LitChart PDFs This is a video lecture from PHI 251, History of Ancient Philosophy. by J. Holbo & B. Waring (©2002) MENO: Can you tell me, Socrates, is virtue the sort of thing you can teach someone? In fact, this is the exact reason that he stands accused of impiety and slander in. However, he seemingly does this to simply agitate Anytus, one of the men who ends up sentencing him to death in. While the content of Meno is a classic in its form and metaphysical function, it also has an underlying and ominous subtext. Having confirmed that he hasn’t, Socrates proceeds by drawing squares in the sand and posing a number of questions to the slave—questions the young man answers correctly. It's often easy to forget that, despite his intense devotion to philosophy and logic, Socrates is quite pious. Although this satisfies Meno himself, it seems obvious that Socrates will take issue with this definition because it leaves so much room for interpretation and thus lacks true clarity. Socrates makes an important point when he says that people aren’t good “by nature.” If this were the case, it would most likely be difficult to teach virtue, since it’s quite a challenge to show people how to acquire an inborn trait. In turn, Socrates showcases the fact that teaching often means little more than encouraging a student to find knowledge within themselves. If you should meet with it, how will you know that this is the thing that you did not know?” In response, Socrates rephrases Meno’s concern, an idea now commonly referred to as Meno’s Paradox. Socrates attempts to dissect an ethical term by questioning a person who claims to know the term's meaning, and eventually concludes that neither he nor the \"expert\" really know what the term means. Meno A good-looking young man who belongs to a prominent family in Thessaly. Struggling with distance learning? In this way, Socrates demonstrates to Meno that people are capable of finding knowledge within themselves, especially when guided by someone who can help coax this information out of them. Though this aligns with Meno’s notion that it’s impossible to acquire. Of course, knowledge enables a person to know why their “opinions” are “correct,” but this doesn’t negate the fact that such opinions can be “beneficial” to a person even when they doesn’t understand their own logic. 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