“The problem of reconstructing the life of Socrates has been compared to that of writing the life of Christ. Neither wrote a word of his teachings, which have been preserved, not always consistently, in the writings of their disciples.” (Cartledge 125) However, Plato (Socrates’s student) wrote down some of his works for him.
The work starts when Meno asks how virtue is acquired. Socrates doesn’t know what virtue is, so Meno tells him that there are different kinds of virtues for different people.
“There will be no difficulty, Socrates, in answering your question. Let us take first the virtue of a man-he should know how to administer the state, and in the administration of it to benefit his friends and harm his enemies; and he must also be careful not to suffer harm himself. A woman's virtue, if you wish to know about that, may also be easily described: her duty is to order her house, and keep what is indoors, and obey her husband. Every age, every condition of life, young or old, male or female, bond or free, has a different virtue: there are virtues numberless, and no lack of definitions of them; for virtue is relative to the actions and ages of each of us in all that we do. And the same may be said of vice, Socrates.” (source)Socrates proves that virtue is the same for all people and argues that it should be defined as a whole, not having different things like courage and temperance being defined as virtues.
Socrates then comes in from a new angle:
“Well, I will try and explain to you what figure is. What do you say to this answer?-Figure is the only thing which always follows colour. Will you be satisfied with it, as I am sure that I should be, if you would let me have a similar definition of virtue?”(source) “Men. If you want to have one definition of them all, I know not what to say, but that virtue is the power of governing mankind.” (source) “Yet once more, fair friend; according to you, virtue is "the power of governing"; but do you not add "justly and not unjustly"? Men. Yes, Socrates; I agree there; for justice is virtue. Soc. Would you say "virtue," Meno, or "a virtue"? Men. What do you mean? Soc. I mean as I might say about anything; that a round, for example, is "a figure" and not simply "figure," and I should adopt this mode of speaking, because there are other figures. Men. Quite right; and that is just what I am saying about virtue-that there are other virtues as well as justice. Soc. What are they? tell me the names of them, as I would tell you the names of the other figures if you asked me. Men. Courage and temperance and wisdom and magnanimity are virtues; and there are many others. Soc. Yes, Meno; and again we are in the same case: in searching after one virtue we have found many, though not in the same way as before; but we have been unable to find the common virtue which runs through them all.” (source)Socrates later brings the topic around to another point when he says,
“Is it not obvious that those who are ignorant of their [evil] nature do not desire them; but they desire what they suppose to be goods although they are really evils; and if they are mistaken and suppose the evils to be good they really desire goods?” (source)I personally disagree with this quote because one can be doing something that they don’t know is wrong, but if they did know, would still do it anyway. In other words, one can be doing something that they don’t know is evil, but they still desire that evil thing that they are doing. Just because one is ignorant doesn’t mean one is perfect.
Meno then tries to define virtue a bit differently.
“Virtue is the desire of things honourable and the power of attaining them.” (source) “Soc. But if this be affirmed, then the desire of good is common to all, and one man is no better than another in that respect? Men. True. Soc. And if one man is not better than another in desiring good, he must be better in the power of attaining it? Men. Exactly. Soc. Then, according to your definition, virtue would appear to be the power of attaining good? Men. I entirely approve, Socrates, of the manner in which you now view this matter. Soc. Then let us see whether what you say is true from another point of view; for very likely you may be right:-You affirm virtue to be the power of attaining goods? Men. Yes. Soc. And the goods which mean are such as health and wealth and the possession of gold and silver, and having office and honour in the state-those are what you would call goods? Men. Yes, I should include all those. Soc. Then, according to Meno, who is the hereditary friend of the great king, virtue is the power of getting silver and gold; and would you add that they must be gained piously, justly, or do you deem this to be of no consequence? And is any mode of acquisition, even if unjust and dishonest, equally to be deemed virtue? Men. Not virtue, Socrates, but vice. Soc. Then justice or temperance or holiness, or some other part of virtue, as would appear, must accompany the acquisition, and without them the mere acquisition of good will not be virtue. Men. Why, how can there be virtue without these? Soc. And the non-acquisition of gold and silver in a dishonest manner for oneself or another, or in other words the want of them, may be equally virtue? Men. True. Soc. Then the acquisition of such goods is no more virtue than the non-acquisition and want of them, but whatever is accompanied by justice or honesty is virtue, and whatever is devoid of justice is vice. Men. It cannot be otherwise, in my judgment.” (source)
Socrates then goes on to ask again if Meno said that justice and temperance and the like were virtues, and he agrees, but Socrates wants a whole.
Meno later asks how we can enquire and how we know that the answer is the right one, but Socrates dismisses the question as tiresome. Socrates then says that we cannot learn, but only recall things that we already know. He demonstrates on a little boy by only asking him questions and making sure by Meno that no one else taught him those things.
Socrates says that we should enquire because we are “better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that there was no knowing and no use in seeking to know what we do not know.” (source)
Socrates asks, “wisdom is inferred to be that which profits-and virtue, as we say, is profitable? Men. Certainly. Soc. And thus we arrive at the conclusion that virtue is either wholly or partly wisdom? Men. I think that what you are saying, Socrates, is very true.” (source) Socrates comes to the conclusion that virtue is wisdom and must be taught. But he later discards it because there are no teachers, disciples, or scholars of virtue. He proves this by asking Anytus, a wise and smart aristocrat.
Socrates also says that a right opinion should be placed equal to knowledge. I personally would disagree with this because knowledge is factual. An opinion is just something that one thinks is true. If an opinion was factual, it would be knowledge, not an opinion.
Socrates concludes that virtue is not taught nor given to man by nature, so it must be God-given. This is ironic because he was later put to death for not believing in the gods, as well as “treason and corruption of the young.” (source) (source)
Works Cited
Cartledge, Paul. The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. New York: T.V. Books, L.L.C. 2000.
C.D. we listened to in class
Schofield, Louise. Ancient Greece. San Francisco: Fog City Press. 2005.
On the left: Plato, on the right: Meno
On the left: Socrates, on the right: Atryum
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