Plato - Meno Flashcards
What are the two questions addressed in Plato’s Dialogue, Meno?
- Can virtue be taught?
2. What is virtue?
“There is a virtue for every action and every age, for every task of ours and every one of us”
Why is Meno’s first definition of virtue unsatisfactory?
This definition is unsatisfactory because virtue is not defined. In the analogy of the bee, the characteristics encompassing bees applies to all, not only in some cases is a bee defined as a bee and in others differing. Therefore, there has to be a definition of virtue that applies to all humans based on certain characteristics
What are Meno’s three other definitions of virtue?
- “To rule over men”
- “To desire for things and have the power to acquire them”
- “The power to acquire good things”
Paradox of Inquiry: To inquire into ‘X’, you would have to know what ‘X’ is beforehand. Based on the paradox, what are the consequences of not knowing ‘X’ before inquiry?
a. You wouldn’t know what you’re inquiring about
b. You wouldn’t know/ recognize what you’re looking for if you came across it
True or False: Based on the Paradox of Inquiry, if you know ‘X’ there is no conceptual room for it
True
True or False: a priori is from experience, a posteriori is innate
False: a priori (prior) = prior, a posteriori = from experience
1) Learning is __________
2) What we are know reminded must have been _______ earlier
3) Our soul pre-existed before ________ and we had this knowledge
recollection
learnt
birth
Alternative Responses to Paradox of Inquiry:
1. episteme vs. 2. doxa, what do these two terms mean?
- knowledge, why it is so 2. true belief, knowing that it is so
Alternative Responses to Paradox of Inquiry:
Another alternative response is partial knowledge, knowing some aspects. Is this related to Hypothetica Deductive?
No, hypothetica deductive puts forth a hypothesis
What is Socrates Hypothetica Deductive in regards to virtue?
virtue = teachable
knowledge = teachable
virtue = knowledge
“Knowledge is virtue” - Plato
What is the Theory of Forms?
There is a transcendental realm of ideas (Forms) which is true reality; we live in a world of particulars
A ________ is paradigm (standard) used to measure ________
forms, particulars
Forms are the source of ________, particulars derive any ________ or ________ from the forms
existence, reality/being
True or False: Particulars are in constant flux, so we can’t have knowledge of them, so the particulars are what they are by participating in the forms
True
List the characteristics of the Forms
invisible, non-spatial, immaterial, non-temporal (eternal), unitary (one), immutable, universal (vs. particular), real (not mind dependent)
