Plato’s Meno

Week 2: Introduction of the problem:
can virtue be taught?

For this class (and ideally, each subsequent session) please have the whole of the Meno read in advance. In particular, though, we will be concentrating on 70a-71d of the Meno.

Putting the question to Socrates

Meno asks, “Can you tell me, Socrates, can virtue be taught? Or is it not teachable but the result of practice, or is it neither of those, but men possess it by nature or in some other way?” [Grube]

This seems like a fairly simple breakdown of the options, but is it? What does Meno think he is asking? Do you understand it? What are the unexpressed assumptions here?

Defining the thing that needs to be taught.

The Greek term used here is arete (three syllables). This is a term with wide usage in Greek literature from many ages and areas, with many domains of discourse. It appears in epic poetry (referring generally to the superior fighter), but Socrates goes on to talk about the particular arete of any particular thing, not always human or even animate (it can be used to specify what characteristic or characteristics makes any given thing the best of its kind). In social terms in later urban society (of the sort in which Socrates was operating), it had often to do with virtue as we understand it in moral terms; it also had to do with excellence in social standing.

From this term we get Greek and English terms like aristeia, aristos, and our English “aristocracy”. Arete was apparently originally seen as an understanding of manliness or maleness — connected to masculinity, rams (ares, Lat. aries) and the god of war Ares. At that level it is an rooted in the word referring to masculinity directly, made along the same rationale as Latin virtus, from vir (man, in gendered sense, as distinct from anthropos + the abstract-forming suffix -tus, -tutis.

Socrates’ response to the first question

Socrates responds that this question reflects the teaching of the Sophist Gorgias. Who was Gorgias and how is this background helpful? (If you want to read more about Gorgias, certainly you may read the overview at Wikipedia, or (if you want to read a much longer but very amusing dialogue, the Gorgias itself.)

Here (as many other places) Socrates claims to lack knowledge. Is this a completely sincere claim, or is it disingenuous? (As we proceed in the dialogue, it may be worthwhile to consider how restrictive Socrates’ use of “knowledge” is.)

Some extra background from the
broader philosophical world

We’ll take a look at the varieties of moral/ethical thought — of which there are surprisingly many. It may seem simple to say that we should all be virtuous and do the right thing, but in practice that’ not a small matter at all.