0085 Meno 73d

Mar 17, 2023 · 14m

Description

Meno's second attempt at explaining what virtue is by using Gorgias' other reply out of context is already doomed to failure, but Socrates adds to the problems by deliberately adding...

Meno's second attempt at explaining what virtue is by using Gorgias' other reply out of context is already doomed to failure, but Socrates adds to the problems by deliberately adding to Meno"s "being able to rule humans" the adverb "justly", which is only a part of the general adverb "well", thus inviting a list of many other virtues from Meno which, being virtues, are not the one virtue Socrates is supposedly looking for. Incidentally, Socrates manages to slip into a discussion of general and particular ("virtue", "a virtue") a reference to shapes ("shape", "a shape"), which will become significant later on.

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