Plato and Socrates--Can Virtue Be Taught?

A detailed Summary of Plato and Socrates--Can Virtue Be Taught?

Plato presents Socrates views on the question whether virtue can be taught in several dialogues, most notably in Protagoras and Meno. In Meno Menon puts the question to Socrates this way: "Can you tell me, Socrates--can virtue be taught? Or if not, does it come by practice? Or does it come neither by practice nor by teaching, but do people get it by nature, or in some other way?" [35]. Socrates claims to not "know the least little thing about virtue" and unable to speak as to its qualities. Moreover, he claims to know no one that does. [29]. There follows a discussion as to whether Gorgias, the Sophist, might not be such a person. Both Socrates and Menon know Gorgias' teaching. Menon obviously has a higher opinion of Gorgias' teaching than does Socrates. It is agreed, upon Socrates suggestion, that the conversation should proceed to explore what Menon, not Gorgias, knows about virtue. And so Socrates, puts the question to Menon: "[W]hat do you say virtue is?" [29]

Menon finds "nothing difficult" in the question and attempts, forthwith, to answer it. But there are complications with the answer, for Menon has suggested that men, slaves, children, women all demonstrate a different kind of virtue, and concludes that there is a virt

Menon has mentioned in passing that virtue consists of the desire of good things and to provide the good. Menon admits that one good thing it is possible to desire is "to possess gold and silver and public honour and appointments." [38]. Socrates inquires now whether the virtue of possession of gold and silver must be qualified so that its possession is fair and just. Menon agrees that it is not a virtue to have such possessions if they have been unjustly acquired. On the contrary it would be a vice. "It is necessary," Socrates says, "to add to this getting, justice or temperance or piety or some other bit of virtue, or else it will not be virtue, although it provides good things." [39]

Socrates response to Menon's description of his puzzlement is that he himself is "not clear-headed" when he puzzles others, and that he is "as puzzled as puzzled can be, and thus I make others puzzled too." [41]. And where can the conversation go from here? Socrates says, that he wishes to investigate virtue with Menon's help so "that we may both try to find out what it is." [41]

In order to determine what the common quality of virtue is, Socrates observes that Menon has associated virtue with the ability to manage public affairs well. Socrates now sets out to question Menon on whether virtue would be present in the management of public affairs in the absence of temperance and justice and Menon readily agrees that it would not.

Socrates argues that there is no such thing as teaching, only remembering. This notion of teaching comes out of Socrates belief in the immortality of the soul. The soul dies but is reborn and thus never destroyed. (This is given by Socrates as a reason for why "we must live our lives as much as we can in holiness. . . .") "Then, since the soul is immortal and often born, having seen what is on earth and what is in the house of Hades, and everything, there is nothing it has not learnt; so there is no wonder it can remember about virtue and other things, because it knew about these before. For since all nature is akin, and the soul has learnt everything, there is nothing to hinder a man, remembering one thing only--which men call learning--from himself finding out all else, if he is brave and does not weary in seeking; for seeking and learning is all remembranc

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Approximate Word count = 1541
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English