Topic > Analysis of the dialogue Meno - 1039

The Meno is a dialogue between Meno and Socrates written by the philosopher Plato. At the beginning of Meno, Meno asks Socrates the question of what virtue is and whether it can arise from teaching, practice, or nature. Socrates replies that he himself does not know what virtue is. Socrates also suggests that there are many different forms of virtue but they all must have something in common that makes it considered a virtue. The Socratic method that Socrates uses during the conversation between Meno and himself is the method of a dialogue between two people. The method allows Meno to seek the answer to his own question of what virtue is. With the help of the questions given by Socrates to Meno, Meno will be able to get an idea of ​​what virtue is. The paradox of inquiry also known as Meno's paradox is the question of whether you can investigate something you know or know about. you don't know. The formulation of the paradox of inquiry is that you either know x or you don't know x. If you know x, you can't query it. If you don't know x, you can't investigate it. So you can't investigate it. Socrates answers the paradox of inquiry with 3 solutions. One is Clenetic's response. The second is the thesis that learning is memory. The third is the demonstration with a slave boy using geometry. The Clenetic response proposes that one can investigate in the absence of knowledge because of one's capacity for reflection and because of one's true belief. An example of this would be when Socrates asks Meno to explain what virtue is based on his belief. Meno suggests that virtue can be for anyone, such as a man, a woman, or a child in any field of practice. He also defines virtue as desiring beautiful things and having been taught or learned the p...... middle of paper ......r. At the end of the discussion between the two, Socrates suggests that virtue does not come from teaching or nature, but virtue comes to people at some point in their lives by divine dispensation without any thought of this happening. Furthermore, there is no clear knowledge of what virtue is and how it reaches people. In conclusion, Socrates used his method also known as the Socratic Method to help Meno better understand what virtue is. Socrates asks Meno questions because Socrates knows that the answer can be found by oneself. Socrates' three solutions to the paradox of inquiry, the Clenic Answer, the thesis that learning is remembering, and the demonstration with the slave boy, provide excellent help in determining what cannot be learned but instead remembered or recovered from the soul of the human being.