Meno's Question Blog 1

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Meno's Question Blog 1

In Meno’s question to Socrates, he asks whether virtue is something one is taught or something that one simply practices without another person teaching virtue to them. To answer this question we must address what assumptions may come up; we can assume that virtue is good and right. Meno can assume that Socrates is the right person to go to get answers about virtue; we can also assume that Socrates knows virtue, and he himself is virtuous. To go any further and get any answers, we should have the definitions for virtue, teaching, and practice; we need the definitions to understand what virtue, teaching, and practice is and is not; we need to know limits. I believe that after knowing what limits we have, we can better understand the question; like Meno, he asked how one could have virtue; he carefully questions if the practice of virtue is something that is basically acquired by practice, alone, and not taught. For Socrates to answer this question, he would have had to ask himself what definitions Meno was seeking, because to be clear and thorough, he must address all sides of this question. When a person asks a question they can come from any direction; for example, I will ask a professor a question, because I want to know what he thinks, and he may answer in a way that makes me dig deeper and still not give his opinion or view.
Socrates is probably very intrigued by this question, because he loves wisdom; he will want to be clear with his answers so his audience will receive what he wants to convey. I could see during this discussion Meno questioning Socrates, but Socrates could be asking Meno what he believes virtue is or what things are virtuous. Another question that may come into this time could be “Who is virtuous?” or “How can one measure virtue?” When the big, moral questions are asked, one may not be receptive to the right answers; however, Socrates believed in the god so he had discerning ideas of virtue and good along with non-virtue and evil. This can lead us to some issues; like, how can the teacher of virtuous know what virtue is his or herself? How can the student be certain that his or her teacher knows virtue is; further, how can the teacher know their teacher learned exactly what virtue.
After digging into Meno’s question we can assume that Socrates will answer how one could have virtue. Socrates will be an effective communicator, who differentiates what is virtue and what is not. I personally feel that virtue can be acquired through practice, but to know these things one must go through questioning. One must see virtuous things happen and choose to learn and repeat the actions. Virtue is important, and one cannot simply be virtuous unless that person has understood the opposite of virtue. To be able to differentiate virtue, one must have been taught what it is like to be virtuous and not to be virtuous. Once Socrates clears up any confusion, defines what virtue, teaching, and practice, and addresses and issues that can be raised he can answer Meno.