Meno

Meno is a dialogue attributed to Plato, likely from the early Academy, in which Socrates engages the young Athenian noble Meno in a discussion about the nature of virtue, its teachability, and the relationship between knowledge and true belief. The work is renowned for introducing two enduring ideas: the elenctic method of questioning and the theory of recollection.

The dialogue follows Meno’s initial question, “What is virtue?” He and Socrates propose several definitions, but each is met with critical examination. Meno initially suggests that virtue is the ability to acquire goods and to rule justly, with distinctions across different roles in a city. Socrates presses for a single, essential definition of virtue rather than a list of virtues for various classes, exposing inconsistencies in the definitions. The discussion turns to whether virtue can be taught, learned, or simply acquired by chance, leading to the famous impasse known as Meno’s paradox: how can one search for something if one does not already know what it is?

A key moment in Meno is the demonstration of recollection. Socrates leads a slave boy through a geometric problem, showing that the boy can arrive at correct conclusions through questioning, suggesting that knowledge is a form of recollection rather than mere taught information. This opera of questioning moves the dialogue toward a view that virtue might be a form of knowledge or insight, though the text does not provide a decisive conclusion.

Impact and themes: Meno raises foundational questions about the nature of virtue, the teachability of ethical knowledge, and the relation between knowledge and true belief. It influenced later discussions in epistemology and virtue theory and remains a central text in the study of Socratic method.