PHL 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Socratic Dialogue, Socratic Method, Aporia
12 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
The meno is probably one of plato"s earliest dialogues, with the conversation dateable to about 402 bce. The dialogue begins with meno asking socrates whether virtue can be taught, and this question (along with the more fundamental question of what virtue is) occupies the two men for the entirety of the text. Important and recurring platonic themes are introduced in the meno, including the form of the socratic dialogue itself. Socrates attempts to dissect an ethical term by questioning a person who claims to know the term"s meaning, and eventually concludes that neither he nor the expert really know what the term means. Other important themes raised here in an early form include that of anamnesis (the idea that the soul is eternal, knows everything, and only has to. recollect in order to learn) and that of virtue as a kind of wisdom. Socrates also makes a number of essential points about the nature of a definition.
