Source edition
Platonis Opera, Tomus III: Tetralogia V-VII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This dialogue depicts a conversation between Socrates and the Thessalian youth Meno, centering on the question of whether virtue (arete) can be taught. In response to Meno's inquiry, Socrates asserts that they must first define what virtue actually is, systematically dismantling Meno's attempts at definition. When their discussion reaches an impasse, resulting in a paradox about the impossibility of inquiry, Socrates introduces the theory of recollection (anamnesis). He demonstrates this theory by guiding Meno's slave boy through a geometry problem, showing that the soul possesses innate truth. They then resume their investigation of virtue using a hypothesis to test whether it is knowledge, but discover a lack of teachers of virtue, even among Athens' greatest statesmen. Socrates concludes that virtue is guided not by knowledge, but by "true opinion," which is bestowed as a divine gift, while reminding Meno that they cannot truly understand virtue until they define its essence.