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Open Philosophy LibraryMenoPlato

Meno

By Plato

Plato's Meno begins by asking whether virtue can be taught, then turns to the prior question of what virtue is. As Meno's confident definitions collapse, the dialogue examines the paradox of seeking what one does not know and develops the theory of recollection through Socrates' geometrical questioning of an enslaved boy. Its final sections distinguish knowledge from true opinion and investigate why successful statesmen do not reliably teach their excellence to others.

Translator or editor
Benjamin Jowett
Publication
c. 385-380 BCE
Genre
Socratic dialogue; ethics; epistemology
Era
Ancient Philosophy

About this work

Meno is Plato's influential dialogue about virtue, learning and the nature of knowledge. Meno asks whether virtue is taught, acquired through practice or possessed by nature. Socrates replies that its origin cannot be determined before they establish what virtue itself is. Meno offers examples and definitions, but each fails to identify the quality shared by every form of virtue. His growing perplexity leads to the paradox of inquiry: if people do not know what they seek, how can they recognise it when found? Socrates responds through the theory of recollection and a celebrated exchange with an enslaved boy. By asking geometrical questions rather than stating the answer, he leads the boy from confident error to recognition that a square built on the diagonal has twice the original area. Perplexity becomes the beginning of learning. The discussion then proceeds hypothetically. If virtue is knowledge, it should be teachable, yet recognised teachers of virtue are difficult to find. Prominent statesmen have not reliably transmitted their excellence even to their sons. The distinction between knowledge and true opinion explains how people may guide action correctly without understanding why. Knowledge is more stable because it is secured by an explanatory account. The dialogue ends provisionally, leaving the definition and origin of virtue open while showing how genuine inquiry can begin.

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