Socrates Virtue

Socrates believes that he is an individual who had the potential to accomplish extraordinary feats due to his unique set of traits. He claims, “If they were of any use, Crito, the many would be able to do the greatest evils, and so they would also be able to do the greatest goods, and that would be fine. But as it is they can do neither, since they cannot make a man either wise or foolish” (Crito, 44d). Only certain people have the capacity to complete enormous feats, and those people are not average citizens of the state. Instead, they must have qualities that set them apart from the rest of the population. Furthermore, “it is reputed at least that Socrates is distinguished from the many human beings in some way” (The Apology, 34e).

To further imply that virtue is not teachable, the conclusion is reached that if there are no teachers or pupils of a topic, the subject can't be taught. Then, after an involved conversation with Anytus, it is proved that virtue cannot be taught, and since it cannot be taught, it is later agreed that, in light of this, virtue cannot be knowledge. As Socrates sees it, since virtue is not knowledge, it must be that virtue is only present in those people who have acquired it from the gods.

Throughout the text we see Socrates and Meno exercise different ways of explaining what virtue is and they finally come to an agreement in the end that neither of them truly know what virtue is. Socrates says, “Virtue appears to be present in those of us who may possess it as a gift from the gods” (100b). They come to this conclusion for many reasons but one of them that stuck out to me was because they decided it was unteachable. Part of their evidence that virtue could not be taught was based on the fact that they could not find any teachers of virtue. They decided this because they knew good men who had sons who were not as good as them. Socrates says, “Did he not want to make them [his sons] good men? I think he did, but this could not be taught” (94b). Which does make sense to me. Why wouldn’t someone who is good and virtuous want their children to be virtuous as well? Only if they did not know how to teach it or it

What arguments do Socrates and his interlocutors provide in these dialogues and what does their discussion suggest about the way in which virtue is in fact acquired? Socrates initiates the inquiries into this problem in each dialogue the same way, that is, to admit no knowledge of the subject at hand. He further admits that he could not possibly teach virtue without knowing what virtue is, “if I do not know what a thing is, how could I know what to teach?” (ho de me oida ti estin,

In the conclusion, Socrates explains virtue is a gift from the gods that everyone should have it. An alternation to saying virtue is knowledge. Based on the reading, virtue is a true opinion. Subsequently, true opinion needs to be tied down to be knowledge. Still, true opinion is as valuable as knowledge, if it is dependable. Socrates says that we still have not scrutinized what virtue truly is.

Meno’s definition of virtue that appeals most to me is explained by him wherein courage, temperance, and wisdom are virtues. First these are virtues because virtues are qualities that define good and bad behavior. Courage is a good quality because it takes courage to deal with different situations and ordeals encountered on a daily basis. Courage is needed also to stand for what is morally correct in spite of being mistreated or ostracized due to the opposing opinions from people. For example if an unauthorized copy of an exam is given to me from another classmate, instead of using it I should refuse to receive it from the student and consult the instructor, even if not to let him or her know who the violator is but to alert them to the occurrence so that the test may be revised. This could mean that I maybe frowned upon by other classmates. However, this is where courage to do what is right is being demonstrated.

Socrates believed that virtue and excellence of the soul is the consequence of knowing and wisdom (p.62). Socrates believed that in soul searching you will ask yourselves important questions regarding all things good and therefore you and are conscious of right and wrong and become a good person. I have to disagree with Socrates statement because even in our present day lives we hear about pastors, government officials, or officers who's job it is to serve and protect the people who go about stealing, cheating, and being dishonest with the very same people they swore to serve. I believe that people can still know what is right and do

In the everyday life of each person, there is a set of routine and rules they follow based on their moral beliefs. According to the book “Virtues and Vices” by Philippa Foot, she states “ A great deal hangs on the question whether justice is or not a good to the just man” (“Moral Beliefs, 101). She mentions that justice also surrounds around physical pleasure and the interest of the physical body. In the same context, in the book “Republic”, Socrates also portrays his views on justice with the questions “ Is the just person happier than the unjust person? What is the relation of justice to happiness?” He states the idea of “healthy body= healthy mind,” indicating that it is important to give care to the physical body as it is the doer

Plato searches for that which comes when one understands reality and is not distracted by the senses. He searches for knowledge in its purest form by breaking free of the chains and turning to the sun outside the cave. Like those who remain inside the cave, the beginning of the discussion on virtue in Meno is misleading. However, the truth is revealed when one focuses on the abstract. Plato explains in the theory of forms that to use the idea and not the physical thing itself allows for a true understanding. Which unlike using the physical, does not allow reality to be shadowed by the senses.

First, Socrates proposes the best three philosophical views out of all the philosophers studied this semester. The most important aspect of Socrates’s philosophy is his idea of virtue. Virtue can be defined as a trait or characteristic that allows one to be morally excellent as a human being and perform morally good actions. Socrates believes that he is one with virtue and that it can be taught as can knowledge. This idea is very apparent in the Crito when Socrates uses virtue as a reason to not escape. He tells Crito that he doesn’t think anyone should ever do wrong, even in return. Even though the agreement that was reached in his trial may be unjust, Socrates believes that it is a just agreement because there was no compulsion, deceit, or

That’s a plausible answer, perhaps a key component in Socrates’ concept of piety. It may also be the idol of the philosophers. Certainly, it would be the way philosophers would make God in their own image. But there are other theological traditions. Suppose, then, that we are not able to think our way into the mind of God. There are many reasons including our finitude and the possibility that there are higher things than rationality for thinking that arguments might not be the way to know God. And even more reasons for thinking that dialectic may not be the way to become pious. One alternative route to the mind of God is through divine revelation. God must reveal Himself; God must tell us what God wants. Otherwise, assuming still that we cannot

“Socrates’ positive influence touches us even today” (May 6) and we can learn a great deal about him from one of his students, Plato. It is in Plato’s report of Socrates’ trial a work entitled, Apology, and a friend’s visit to his jail cell while he is awaiting his death in Crito, that we discover a man like no other. Socrates was a man following a path he felt that the gods had wanted him to follow and made no excuses for his life and they way he lived it.

Socrates uses the expression of gadfly to refer to himself. Here, the gadfly stings and makes one irritated but at the same time steering, you forward. “I am that Gadfly, given by God…to Athens,” Socrates submits (Plato, 2015). He believes that his actions, though times irritating to the state, were useful for ensuring forward movement in the society. Therefore, Socrates demonstrates his role is that of maintain regard of morals and keeping track the state. By looking at his later submission, “unexamined life is not worth”, it is apparent that Socrates believe to have done what God and society required. Therefore, his life revered as examined since he had acted as a ‘gadfly’ to the state leaving a significant role in Athens.

He believed that to live a life of virtue, knowledge is needed to know what is considered good or bad. The only problem with this part of Socrates’ argument is the fact that he never defined the true definition of virtue. The dictionary definition of virtue is to be moral, good, righteousness and excellent. So this brings up another topic. How does one know what is moral or excellent? How does one achieve the level of knowledge to know how to live a virtuous life? This goes back to the past idea of knowledge being learned and not just given to us before conception. Everyone is given freedom to make choices whether right or wrong, but the right and wrong ideas are learned over time. Many people may ask, how did the first people to live aquire this knowledge and virtue? Even though you might not have anyone to learn from, experience can teach some of the best

One virtue that appears a lot in these books is cleverness. You generally know someone is clever when they are able to completely convince someone of something that they had not believed before in a manner that is not very direct. Another example of cleverness is assessing a situation and thinking up all of the different possibilities of events and assessing the probability of these events. At one point in Protagoras, Socrates and Protagoras have been having an argument, and Socrates says this: “‘So that means that bravery is… knowledge’”(Protagoras, Socrates) This is an example of Socrates being clever and working out from the points that he has already made that in the sense that he is speaking, bravery would equal knowledge. After this, Protagoras follows this up with: “‘You don’t let up, do you, Socrates? You seem dead set on making me answer all of the questions! Well, all right, I’ll say it, if it makes you happy: No in the light of all things that we’ve agreed, I now believe that that’s impossible.’” This shows that Socrates