Virtue, Ignorance, and Knowledge
Virtue
is the central concern of Socrates’s dialogue with Meno, as each man struggles to find productive ways to talk about this elusive concept.
What literary form does Meno use?
In return for these definitions, Meno makes a fourth attempt at defining
virtue
: using a literary quote (in true Sophist style), he says that virtue is “to desire beautiful things and and have the power to acquire them.” Like his idea about virtue as the power to rule, however, this definition is quickly broken down by …
What kind of question is Meno asking?
The Meno is probably one of Plato’s earliest dialogues, with the conversation dateable to about 402 BCE. The dialogue begins with Meno asking
Socrates whether virtue can be taught
, and this question (along with the more fundamental question of what virtue is) occupies the two men for the entirety of the text.
What is the first question of the Meno?
First Question:
Is Virtue innate or something that is acquired
? Second question: What is virtue? The second question is the more basic or fundamental question that clarifies the first question. Meno is trying to examine a fundamental assumption of the first question with the second question.
What is the topic of Meno?
The Meno takes up the familiar question of
whether virtue can be taught
, and, if so, why eminent men have not been able to bring up their sons to be virtuous.
What is the main theme of Meno?
The theme of the Meno is
the investigation of virtue with regard to
both its essence and our possibility of acquiring it, whether we acquire virtue by nature, teaching, practice, or in some other way.
What is the point of the Meno?
The Meno is probably
one of Plato’s earliest dialogues
, with the conversation dateable to about 402 BCE. The dialogue begins with Meno asking Socrates whether virtue can be taught, and this question (along with the more fundamental question of what virtue is) occupies the two men for the entirety of the text.
What does Meno say virtue is?
Meno’s third definition: Virtue is
the desire to have and the ability to acquire fine and beautiful things
. Socrates’ response: Everyone desires what they think is good (an idea one encounters in many of Plato’s dialogues).
What is the Meno problem?
Near the end of the dialogue, Meno poses another famous puzzle, called “The Meno Problem” or “
The Value Problem for Knowledge
,” which questions why knowledge is valued more highly than true belief. In response, Socrates provides a famous and somewhat enigmatic distinction between knowledge and true belief.
Why does Anytus get angry?
Socrates’ own eventual execution was due in part to a perceived similarity to the Sophists, though he argued against them his whole life.) … Anytus finally gets
angry at hearing all of these honorable personages slandered and warns Socrates to be careful
.
Is Meno a person?
Meno, a prominent
Thessalian
who is visiting Athens, is a member of this class. Meno’s semi-foreign status aids Socrates (and Plato) in the dialogue, allowing for eyewitness accounts that Socrates himself could not give.
What’s a Meno?
Meno- is a
combining form used like a prefix meaning “month
.” It is often used in medical terms, specifically in references to menstruation. Meno- comes from the Greek mḗn, meaning “month.” It’s distantly related to the English word moon, itself related to the word month.
Who does Socrates talk to in Meno?
Even these Platonic portraits vary somewhat across his many dialogues, but all are similar in one way or another to what we see in the Meno. Generally,
Plato’s
Socrates focuses his inquiries on moral subjects, and he will discuss them with anyone who is interested.
What is the learner’s paradox?
The learning paradox refers to
a set of arguments that, in the 1980s, questioned the received way of conceptualizing learning
. The core of the arguments was that novel knowledge cannot be derived completely from old knowledge, or it would not be new.
How do you solve Meno’s paradox?
One way to overcome this paradox is by
thinking about truths in our own lives
. Rene Descartes famously said “I think, therefore I am” and this means that the act of thinking means that the individual is at least sure of his own existence.
Why knowledge is a virtue?
According to Socrates, “Virtue is knowledge”
because through virtue you can live your life in the best possible manner
. … Virtue is the best condition of soul. If you do actions blindly you can never be satisfied and happy. The word ‘virtue’ translates ‘arete’ which means excellence in Greek.
