Preview

Response To The Meno

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
594 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Response To The Meno
Christopher Nowlin
Professor James Ross
Lone Star College System
PHIL – 2306
29 August 2015

Meno Response Paper The Meno, although not for certain, is thought to be one of Plato's earliest dialogues. The dialogue opens with Meno asking Socrates whether virtue can be imparted, or taught, with the two men dwelling on this question (alongside more central questions of what virtue is) for the entirety of the text. Within the text, Socrates tries to dichotomize an ethical term by inquisitively questioning an individual who believes to know the term's denotation, but ultimately determines that neither he nor the "expert" really know what the word means. "Is virtue something that can be taught? Or does it come by practice? Or is it neither teaching
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Patching Out Virtue Analysis
    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page

    Patching Out Virtue Analysis

    In Patching Out Virtue, “The first is to champion the virtue tradition against Christian moral quietism and modern deontological ethics. The second is to facilitate reconciliation between Augustinian and Emersonian virtue” (Foster 688).…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To What Extent Do Modern Virtue Ethics Address the Weaknesses of Aristotle's Teaching on Virtues?
    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To What Extent Do Modern Virtue Ethics Address the Weaknesses of Aristotle's Teaching on Virtues?

    To what extent do modern virtue ethics address the weaknesses of Aristotle’s teaching on virtues? (35)…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Socrates 'Midwife In Plato's Theaetetus'
    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Socrates 'Midwife In Plato's Theaetetus'

    Socrates’ unique wisdom can be likened to that of a midwife, as stated in Theaetetus. In Meno, Socrates discusses the definition of virtue with the titular character. Socrates challenges Meno to define virtue, and Meno states that each demographic has a different virtue, for example, “a man’s virtue: to take part in the city’s affairs capably…”(Meno, 71e-72a) or “there is a different…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Interlocutor Vs Meno
    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Interlocutor Vs Meno

    First of all, Meno demonstrates Socrates's effort to guide his interlocutor to achieve thorough understanding of virtue and what his interlocutor actually received. Socrates's questioner is Meno, who is a young man trying to engage in unethical military and political affairs. Very well absorbed in his aristocratic origin, Meno also has a fierce pride in the ideas on virtue that he acquired from Gorgias, a sophist who focuses on the teaching of rhetoric and the external representation of knowledge. Meno started the conversation with a burning question: "Can you tell me, Socrates, can virtue be taught?" (Meno, 70a)…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle's Virtue Analysis
    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aristotle's Virtue Analysis

    It is true that each author speaks virtues that are common to both the medieval and ancient times. Aristotle being so cunning during his era introduces virtue or excellence consisting of two parts moral and intellectual which can be taught, it is not possible to change what is naturally imprinted. Moral education is tangible through habits and experiences. Virtue can be achieved, not easily; it takes more than one characteristic to meet it.…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dialogue Between Meno And Socrates
    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page

    Dialogue Between Meno And Socrates

    The Meno is the literary work done by Socrates the main theme in this dialogue/story is what is virtue. The dialogue between Meno and Socrates gives insight and question on what it is. It begins with Meno telling Socrates that he has been under the spell of Socrates and that he did not know what virtue was. This is what started the whole conversation between the boy, Meno, and Socrates. First off Socrates asks Meno what virtue is Meno listed examples about virtue but he did not the exact definition. Instead Socrates uses an analogy with the priestess and priests of who believe that people have an immortal soul. He also then uses the torpedo fish, which is a metaphor for when people are “paralyzed” by for being confused and having inconsistent.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    In Response To Meno Socrates Meaning
    • 1449 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In Response To Meno Socrates Meaning

    Socrates has “numbed” Meno’s mind and essentially made him feel stupid. “In response to Meno, Socrates says he is willing to accept the torpedo-fish simile so long as it is true that the torpedo fish numbs not only other fish but also itself. “I myself do not have the answer when I perplex others,” he…

    • 1449 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Law122 Final
    • 46388 Words
    • 186 Pages

    Law122 Final

    Character/virtue: we should consider what kind of people we want to be, and what example we want to set…

    • 46388 Words
    • 186 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethical Theories Of Virtue Ethics
    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page

    Ethical Theories Of Virtue Ethics

    Virtue Ethics as a “different approach to morality” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 124), was distinguished from the other ethical theories as one that “is concerned with those traits of character that make one a good person” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 125). In contrast with the other ethical theories that “are concerned with how we determined what is the right things to do” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 124), “virtue ethics asks how we ought to be” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 125).…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Meno's Paradox Of Inquiry Summary
    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Meno's Paradox Of Inquiry Summary

    Meno's paradox is one of Plato's many dialogues. It is an attempt to discover the notion of general virtue. (Whether it can be taught, it is learned, acquired, or just is…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Meno Paradox
    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Meno Paradox

    If Meno were a Know-It-All on the subject of virtue, according to Meno’s paradox, Socrates’ questions should not have impacted him at all, and yet he seems impacted. The possibility that Meno superficially, not totally, understands the concept of virtue, is not a possibility for which Meno’s paradox allows. Socrates’ questions, then, move Meno from confident knowledge to a recognition of his own limitations, a movement which should not have been possible were Meno’s paradox valid. Additionally, Meno’s continued participation in the dialogue suggests an intellectual surrender of his paradox since his participation implies an investment in adding to his own…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Meno Socrates Recollection
    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Meno Socrates Recollection

    Exposition: At the beginning of the reading, they begin to argue about whether virtue can be taught. From there, they move on to trying to figure out what exactly virtue is. But since Meno, can’t really answer the question, Socrates then begins to bring up a paradox. A paradox in which it says that learning is impossible, considering that either you know what you are looking for or you don’t.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Socrates Vs Meno Research Paper
    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Socrates Vs Meno Research Paper

    What exacty is virtue and how does one describe it? In the dialog Meno, two men, Meno and Socrates, attempt to define virtue. The dialog begins with Meno asking Socrates if virtue can be taught. Personally, I do not imagine that virtue can be taught. Meno does not exactly know what virtue is but guesses that it is to possess power and to retain good things. Socrates argues that learning is impossible because a soul has already learned everything from passed lives and that learning is simply recollection from those past lives. The purpose of this paper is to discuss Meno’s paradox and to determine how Socrates resolves it.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Meno
    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Meno

    Plato, in his book Meno, defines whether or not virtue can be taught. He does so by presenting two different characters; Meno is just a mere prop that Plato utilizes so that he could convey his real messages through Socrates. The book is written in the dialectic style and begins with Meno’s question if virtue is teachable. Socrates responds to Meno’s question by saying that in order to answer that question, one must first know whether virtue can be defined or not. Meno attempts three times to define virtue however, each time Socrates refutes his definition with a counterargument. By the end of his third attempt, Meno calls Socrates a “torpedo fish” because he feels as if all the knowledge that he had acquired from Gorgias was replaced by questions and uncertainty. In the aforementioned passage, in the doxical context, Socrates admits he has this effect on others because he himself doesn’t know . On the other hand, in the ethological context, Socrates is mocking the teachings of Gorgias and the Sophists. Moreover, in a broader perspective, through Socrates, Plato criticizes all who pretend like they have acquired all the knowledge attainable in this world.…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theories Of Virtue Ethics
    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Theories Of Virtue Ethics

    There have been many different theories of virtue that have come to play over the years. In today’s society, the most popular theories are Kantianism and consequentialism. These two theories incline to concern with the categorizing of actions as either right or erroneous. “Although virtue ethics lacks in popularity, many people still cerebrate it is indispensable. Virtue ethics requires us to understand how to be transform ourselves into better people. That signifies we have to understand what is moral, how to be incentivized to be moral, and how to authentically deport morally.” [ CITATION JWG10 \l 1033 ].…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics