The Meno Essays - Socratic Dialogues, Dialogues Of Plato, Meno

The Meno The Meno asks the question ?what is virtue and can it be taught. Meno's conversation with Socrates is an attempt to know exactly what virtue means and how it can be defined to come to the decision of whether or not it can in fact be taught to others. But as Meno finds, contrary to his original perceptions as an ethical relativist, he does not know what virtue is, and in his new state of ethical absolutism, cannot therefore teach Socrates what virtue is, for how can one teach what one does not know? It becomes the conclusion amongst the two, that virtue is a divine gift to those who are virtuous, and cannot be taught as it is not knowledge and it cannot be said that there are teachers of it. However, Socrates, through his refutations of Meno's questions and arguments, does not justify his conclusion that it cannot be taught. Several logical fallacies are present within the argument put forth by Socrates. And as Meno states, he has a numbing effect on those around him, such that they might not even notice his failings until a later examination. After exhausting all definitions he has for what virtue is, all of them being countered by Socrates and determined to be inadequate definitions, one of the problem's Meno then has with understanding what virtue is comes from this paradox: How can you try to find out something, when you have no notion at all about what it is? However, the problem Meno has here is not clearly stated. Does he suggest that you either know what you're looking for, and therefore do not need to inquire into it, or you don't know what you're looking for, and therefore cannot inquire into it, because you don't know it? This leads to the question of whether what you know is either the question you want to ask, or the answer to that question. One obviously cannot both know and not know the same thing. However, one can know the question but not the answer. Therefore, you can inquire into something you do not know of, if you know the question you wish to ask. And from this question, you would follow whatever steps are necessary to get the answer, and end up knowing which you did not previously know. However, Socrates puts forth a different perspective here, by attempting to demonstrate his Recollection Theory. This theory purports that inquiry can be impossible in some instances, but what is seen to be learning is in fact the recollection of something previously known. Though Socrates puts forth an admirable effort to support his recollection theory, there is a flaw in his argument. He uses a slave boy to exemplify how the theory works. He sets forth the geometrical problem to the slave boy simply enough; however, with each wrong answer from the boy, he proceeds to lead him closer to the correct conclusion. The boy makes guesses, that Socrates dismisses in small conversation bits with Meno to one side. Right away, this would suggest that he is, in fact, teaching the boy something, whether he will admit to it or not. When the boy suggests the length of the lines be doubled to four to make a square of eight, Socrates immediately speaks with Meno and asks if he is correct , to which Meno replies that the boy is wrong in his assumption. Socrates draws this new square and specifically asks ?Is four times the old one double to which the boy replies no, it is four times. This information was given to him by Socrates. After the boy unsuccessfully tries to determine the answer to Socrates' puzzle again by saying that the line should now be three, Socrates gives the boy the answer by drawing lines bm, mi, ig, gb (top of page forty-nine) and asking him if that is not the answer, to which the boy replies in the affirmative. It is almost puzzling as to why Meno agrees with Socrates that the boy simply answered the question on his own, when he so obviously did not. It could be speculated that given the stature of Socrates at the time, Meno simply couldn't bring himself to disagree, or was so sure of Socrates' wisdom, that he accepted his example as truth. Had it not been for the help of Socrates, the boy might never have known the answer.