Meno again attempts to define virtue, this time as “desiring fine things and being able to acquire them ” (77b). Socrates argues that no one desires what is not good, and that therefore the definition reduces to “the power of acquiring good things” (78c).
Can a virtue be taught?
Moral virtue is learned by repetition; intellec- tual virtue can be taught and is the appropriate concern of the schools. Moral virtue is acquired, if it is acquired at all, at a very early age.
Can virtue be taught Meno?
Socrates proposes the following hypothesis: if virtue is a kind of knowledge, then it can be taught (and if it is not, it cannot). ... Meno, remembering the two hypotheses proposed by Socrates, happily concludes that, since virtue is knowledge, people must learn it by being taught. Socrates, however, is less sure.
Why do Socrates and Meno conclude that virtue is not taught?
Someone who does not know himself how to drive a car seems unlikely to be able to teach someone else how to. Socrates and Meno much agree that there is no one that truly knows what is meant by “virtue” and because of this reason cannot be taught.
Why does Meno believe he knows what virtue is?
In the dialogue, Meno believes he is virtuous because he has given several discourses about it in the past: and Socrates proves that he can’t know whether he’s virtuous or not because he doesn’t know what virtue is. Anytus was the main prosecutor in the court case that led to Socrates’s death.
Is Meno a person?
Meno (/ˈmiːnoʊ/; Greek: Mένων, Menōn; c. 423 – c. 400 BC), son of Alexidemus, was an ancient Thessalian political figure . Probably from Pharsalus, he is famous both for the eponymous dialogue written by Plato and his role as one of the generals leading different contingents of Greek mercenaries in Xenophon’s Anabasis.
What makes a virtuous person?
Virtue is defined as “the quality of moral excellence, righteousness, and responsibility” (Pg. 73) While studying what makes a virtuous person their character rather than actions are studied. Honesty, courage, moderation, compassion, wisdom and loyalty are a few examples of the characteristics of a virtuous person.
What kind of knowledge of virtue Socrates is looking for in the Meno?
This suggestion puzzles Meno, and Socrates explains that, while they had been looking for virtue as a kind of teachable knowledge , virtuous men’s good deeds could equally well be the result not of knowledge but of “true opinion.”
What does Socrates say about virtue?
Based upon first-hand knowledge of the Greek texts, my thesis is as follows: man’s virtue, according to Socrates, is wisdom (skill or knowledge-how) to act effectively or correctly in a given situ- ation, grounded in and based upon absolutely certain knowledge (intellec- tual knowledge-that) .
Who says virtue Cannot be taught?
Socrates explains that if virtue can be taught, then there must be teachers who can teach it. But Socrates says that it is impossible to find any such teachers of virtue, or to define who can teach virtue, and that therefore it must be assumed that virtue cannot be taught.
Why do virtues not a feeling?
In his first characterization of virtue Aristotle denies that virtues might be feelings themselves by pointing out that a feeling is not the sort of thing that is chosen ; our anger and fear are, as he might have said, “aprohairetic”, whereas the virtues are kinds of choice or at least not aprohairetic, not devoid of ...
What did Plato say about virtue?
Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato maintains a virtue-based eudaemonistic conception of ethics. That is to say, happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the virtues (aretê: ‘excellence’) are the requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it.
Is virtue inborn or acquired?
Virtues are acquired character traits ; they are not inborn or learned through reason. Unlike intellectual or physical characteristics, moral virtues are habits we acquire by practicing them and emulating exceptionally virtuous people or especially virtuous actions.
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.
How do you solve Meno’s paradox?
Meno’s paradox questions how knowledge is obtained and how can we know if something is right if we have never experienced it. We may ask our friends to show us how they interpret it, but they might be wrong and misleading. One way to overcome this paradox is by thinking about truths in our own lives .
Why does Meno say that inquiry is impossible?
Meno raises an objection to the entire definitional search in the form of (what has been called) “Meno’s Paradox,” or “The Paradox of Inquiry” (Meno 80d-e). ... That is, that inquiry never produces new knowledge, but only recapitulates things already known . This leads to the famous Doctrine of Recollection.
