Socrates Virtue

In the Meno, Socrates and Meno discuss the nature of virtue, the process of acquiring knowledge, and also the concept of the teachability of virtue. Throughout the text, Meno suggests many varying definitions for virtue, all of which Socrates is able to dismantle. The point is also raised that it may be impossible to know about something that was not previously understood, because the searcher would have no idea what to be looking for. To dispute this, Socrates makes a point that all knowledge is innate, and the process of “learning” is really just recollecting knowledge that is buried deeply within the human mind. The issue of the teachability of virtue is an important theme in this dialogue because it raises points about whether virtue is knowledge, which then leads to the issue of knowledge in general.

What arguments do Socrates and his interlocutors provide in these dialogues and what does their discussion suggest about the way in which virtue is in fact acquired? Socrates initiates the inquiries into this problem in each dialogue the same way, that is, to admit no knowledge of the subject at hand. He further admits that he could not possibly teach virtue without knowing what virtue is, “if I do not know what a thing is, how could I know what to teach?” (ho de me oida ti estin,

Throughout the text we see Socrates and Meno exercise different ways of explaining what virtue is and they finally come to an agreement in the end that neither of them truly know what virtue is. Socrates says, “Virtue appears to be present in those of us who may possess it as a gift from the gods” (100b). They come to this conclusion for many reasons but one of them that stuck out to me was because they decided it was unteachable. Part of their evidence that virtue could not be taught was based on the fact that they could not find any teachers of virtue. They decided this because they knew good men who had sons who were not as good as them. Socrates says, “Did he not want to make them [his sons] good men? I think he did, but this could not be taught” (94b). Which does make sense to me. Why wouldn’t someone who is good and virtuous want their children to be virtuous as well? Only if they did not know how to teach it or it

The central theme of one of Plato’s Five Dialogues, Meno, is to find an answer to the question, “can virtue be taught?” Before answering this question for Meno, Socrates first wants to define virtue because he does not know how one can decide if something can be taught, when one does not technically know what that thing is. Throughout their discussion, they decide on various definitions of virtue, but never decide on one that actually makes sense. The dialogue concludes with Socrates revealing that he believes that virtue cannot be taught because it is not knowledge. Therefore, it is a gift from the gods.

Meno’s definition of virtue that appeals most to me is explained by him wherein courage, temperance, and wisdom are virtues. First these are virtues because virtues are qualities that define good and bad behavior. Courage is a good quality because it takes courage to deal with different situations and ordeals encountered on a daily basis. Courage is needed also to stand for what is morally correct in spite of being mistreated or ostracized due to the opposing opinions from people. For example if an unauthorized copy of an exam is given to me from another classmate, instead of using it I should refuse to receive it from the student and consult the instructor, even if not to let him or her know who the violator is but to alert them to the occurrence so that the test may be revised. This could mean that I maybe frowned upon by other classmates. However, this is where courage to do what is right is being demonstrated.

In the conclusion, Socrates explains virtue is a gift from the gods that everyone should have it. An alternation to saying virtue is knowledge. Based on the reading, virtue is a true opinion. Subsequently, true opinion needs to be tied down to be knowledge. Still, true opinion is as valuable as knowledge, if it is dependable. Socrates says that we still have not scrutinized what virtue truly is.

In the Republic of Plato, the philosopher Socrates lays out his notion of the good, and draws the conclusion that virtue must be attained before one can be good. For Socrates there are two kinds of virtue; collective and individual. Collective virtue is virtue as whole, or the virtues of the city. Individual virtue pertains to the individual himself, and concerns the acts that the individual does, and concerns the individual’s soul. For Socrates, the relationship between individual and collective virtue is that they are the same, as the virtues of the collective parallel those of the Individual. This conclusion can be reached as both the city and the soul deal with the four main virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.

In this writing, Meno asks Socrates if virtue can be taught or is virtue the result of practice or does virtue come about in another way (70a). Meno believes that virtue is different for different actions performed and it also differs in terms of the age of the individual (72a). Socrates responds by telling me no that he does not know what qualities virtue possesses and he is ignorant to it (71b). However, virtue should take on the same form (72c), rather than being different for different actions and age of the person. Factors of virtue include justice and moderation (73b), and if people did not have the same traits of virtue, then this would mean that they are not good or virtuous in the same way (73c). During this conversation, Socrates

“Socrates’ positive influence touches us even today” (May 6) and we can learn a great deal about him from one of his students, Plato. It is in Plato’s report of Socrates’ trial a work entitled, Apology, and a friend’s visit to his jail cell while he is awaiting his death in Crito, that we discover a man like no other. Socrates was a man following a path he felt that the gods had wanted him to follow and made no excuses for his life and they way he lived it.

Socrates believed that virtue and excellence of the soul is the consequence of knowing and wisdom (p.62). Socrates believed that in soul searching you will ask yourselves important questions regarding all things good and therefore you and are conscious of right and wrong and become a good person. I have to disagree with Socrates statement because even in our present day lives we hear about pastors, government officials, or officers who's job it is to serve and protect the people who go about stealing, cheating, and being dishonest with the very same people they swore to serve. I believe that people can still know what is right and do

In the everyday life of each person, there is a set of routine and rules they follow based on their moral beliefs. According to the book “Virtues and Vices” by Philippa Foot, she states “ A great deal hangs on the question whether justice is or not a good to the just man” (“Moral Beliefs, 101). She mentions that justice also surrounds around physical pleasure and the interest of the physical body. In the same context, in the book “Republic”, Socrates also portrays his views on justice with the questions “ Is the just person happier than the unjust person? What is the relation of justice to happiness?” He states the idea of “healthy body= healthy mind,” indicating that it is important to give care to the physical body as it is the doer

To further imply that virtue is not teachable, the conclusion is reached that if there are no teachers or pupils of a topic, the subject can't be taught. Then, after an involved conversation with Anytus, it is proved that virtue cannot be taught, and since it cannot be taught, it is later agreed that, in light of this, virtue cannot be knowledge. As Socrates sees it, since virtue is not knowledge, it must be that virtue is only present in those people who have acquired it from the gods.

A philosophical attitude toward life should play a major part in our lives. It is crucial for us as humans to learn and accept lessons learned through the experience of life. If you do not “examine your life” then what do you learn and what do you gain? Socrates’ in “The Trial and Death of Socrates” he details this in many ways. We can pull all the evidence and ideas we need from this text written by Plato. In the 3 parts Euthyphro, Apology and Crito many conclusions are made and there is much to learn from this text. Some of the most important parts allude to this idea of living life with a philosophical attitude. The book begins with the search for the definition of piety. In the apology Socrates’ details his side of the argument showing everyone the power of his own ideas and that is proved by his execution and finally in the Crito his commitment to his way of life is the last point that Socrates’ made. This text is chalked full of life lessons but the most important is the one that urges people to live their lives while never stopping to learn and think.

That’s a plausible answer, perhaps a key component in Socrates’ concept of piety. It may also be the idol of the philosophers. Certainly, it would be the way philosophers would make God in their own image. But there are other theological traditions. Suppose, then, that we are not able to think our way into the mind of God. There are many reasons including our finitude and the possibility that there are higher things than rationality for thinking that arguments might not be the way to know God. And even more reasons for thinking that dialectic may not be the way to become pious. One alternative route to the mind of God is through divine revelation. God must reveal Himself; God must tell us what God wants. Otherwise, assuming still that we cannot

One virtue that appears a lot in these books is cleverness. You generally know someone is clever when they are able to completely convince someone of something that they had not believed before in a manner that is not very direct. Another example of cleverness is assessing a situation and thinking up all of the different possibilities of events and assessing the probability of these events. At one point in Protagoras, Socrates and Protagoras have been having an argument, and Socrates says this: “‘So that means that bravery is… knowledge’”(Protagoras, Socrates) This is an example of Socrates being clever and working out from the points that he has already made that in the sense that he is speaking, bravery would equal knowledge. After this, Protagoras follows this up with: “‘You don’t let up, do you, Socrates? You seem dead set on making me answer all of the questions! Well, all right, I’ll say it, if it makes you happy: No in the light of all things that we’ve agreed, I now believe that that’s impossible.’” This shows that Socrates