First of all, I thought the dialogue of Meno was an easy read. In the beginning, Meno and Socrates begin with the discussion of trying to find out what virtue is. Immediately I get drawn in, because personally I would like to know what virtue is too. So then the question arises of whether or not virtue is something that can be taught and what is really funny about this is that they still haven’t been able to answer the original question about WHAT VIRTUE IS. It is at this point in the text that I realize that I may end up being disappointed.
Furthermore, Socrates decides to pump Meno with a bunch of questions about virtue to see if he knows what it is. At this point I begin to wonder why Socrates would think that Meno would know what virtue is if he didn’t even know what it is. I mean, Socrates is supposed to be the all knowing man of wisdom after all. Another issue that puzzles me, the fact that Socrates thinks that we already know everything and that its just a matter of recollecting it. I seriously disagree with this so I am just going to leave it at that because it just seems like a topic that doesn’t even make sense, much less be proven.
One of the last topics of discussion, Socrates and Meno begin to wonder whether or not a person can seek out something that he doesn’t yet know. This also causes problems for me because Socrates just got out of a conversation talking about recollection, but then he makes the claim about whether or not they can seek out something that they don’t know. At this point I am fuming at Socrates.
Lastly, at the end of Meno I start getting excited because I’m thinking that I am going to finally find out what virtue is after reading all the NONSENSE, but at the very end Socrates tells Meno that he has to leave and that they will continue the discussion later. REALLY?
As regards style, all of these things are characteristic of the early Plato: Socrates as the interrogator, the person looking for other people to share their knowledge. The way I read these works suggest to me that the character of Socrates is meant to provide a springboard for the reader's own self-reflection, rather than indoctrinating or actually solving problems.
ReplyDeleteOn recollection: Socrates does say he heard about it through myth. So he's not advancing it as an actual philosophical theory. Rather, he seems to think it's instructive to explore knowledge as already possessed but requiring the exercise of memory or recollection.