Notes on History of Philosophy I -- Phil A211

William Jamison - Instructor

Lecture 5

Plato 3

We will be reading through the texts and noting the highlights of the arguments.

In the Meno the topic asks the nature of "virtue" - whether it can be taught or not. The word used is also translated as excellence:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=a%29reth%2F&la=greek&prior=h(&d=Perseus:text:1999.01.0177:text=Meno:section=70a&i=1

Notice Menon asks this right at the start:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=22330D900E7427180E2B001E740AAB2C?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0177%3atext%3dMeno

But we should also note that the name Menon means to remain or wait. Perhaps "fixed" as "unchanging" - which seems to imply that the answer is no. You are either born with it or born without it. But what is "it"? Might this be similar to the modern question phrased as nurture or nature? Perhaps. But only in the broadest possible sense I think. Also see this interesting discussion of the Meno Paradox.

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