Plato, Meno | Can Virtue Be Taught? | Philosophy Core Concepts

[@jeanbordes8241]

Méno is a beautiful dialogue about virtue by Plato the greatest PHILOSOPHER of ancient Greece. Now Sadler is a Young and talented AMERICAN philosopher Who tells us What is the core concept of this dialogue. HIS lesson is brillant,simple and clear. And to be simple in Philosophy is quite difficult :it takes many years of teaching( 20 years saysGregory). Most excellent

[@GregoryBSadler]

Hahaha! Well, I'm not young anymore, but I'll certainly take the compliments! Thanks!

[@nikolaslovric4557]

If you're cramming, you can watch this at 1.5 speed and it sounds really good still. Also, he is an incredible professor as well, so you're not wasting time either way.

[@itsmevicci6825]

Wrote a (pretty good) essay in an hour thanks to you! I can go to sleep in time! So much easier to have these things explained to you. Thank you!!! / Vicci from Finland

[@GregoryBSadler]

+ItsMeVicci You're welcome!

[@christophemooney9979]

nice bro. did that paper help you with where you are now, four years later?

[@catlady8943]

You are amazing! This along with your other videos has helped me understand what I am reading. Hopefully I will be able to write my essay now. Thanks so much.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you found it helpful. If you still find yourself stuck, and want to hire me for tutorial services, here's my site: reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/

[@tribunateSPQR]

Great video - excellent analysis of the material

[@GregoryBSadler]

Thanks!

[@reemalsanea6203]

thank you for saving my life

[@GregoryBSadler]

you're welcome - though I don't know how a video did that

[@technicly.]

@@GregoryBSadler you saved mine too

[@GregoryBSadler]

new Core Concept video, continuing examination of central concepts of the Meno

[@MrMarktrumble]

thank you

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome

[@lillianmercado8781]

Thank you for your lectures

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome!

[@agapelove9816]

I think the defenition of virtue is something that makes us better.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, there you go

[@grant7476]

but better in what way? is it virtuous if it is something that helps you kill people?

[@jessicamackay6448]

these videos are amazing, very clear thank you

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Jessica Mackay Glad you found it useful

[@GROMINBLX]

Is human nature good (for Plato)? Because our professor says it is not, that human is not good by nature, he can only decide to be good by 'learning'/deciding to live virtously (which confuses me a bit).

[@GregoryBSadler]

Plato doesn't say human nature is automatically good or evil. And yes, the good life and being good depends on acquiring virtue for Plato. If you'd like to work that through, here's my site for tutorial sessions: reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/

[@GROMINBLX]

Thank you so much!

[@purplepoet6147]

Actually, I just studied this, If i remember correctly, the conclusion of the dialogue was that _we_ cannot teach virtue, but it was a divine gift. And i quote "Then, Meno, the conclusion is that virtue comes to the virtuous by the gift of God. But we shall never know the certain truth until, before asking how virtue is given, we enquire into the actual nature of virtue."

[@purplepoet6147]

It's the last line in the entire dialogue

[@GregoryBSadler]

Right, in this dialogue, virtue can't be effectively taught. Now in other dialogues, that's not the case

[@purplepoet6147]

@@GregoryBSadler Fair enough, also thanks for replying i didn't expect anyone to.

[@purplepoet6147]

@@GregoryBSadler also the vid really helped me in my paper as well

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@purplepoet6147 Glad it was helpful for you

[@LLMresearch]

Ah now I’m beginning to understand the dialogue. I was thinking an admiral person had virtue but we admire people with no virtue. I.e celebrities etc

[@GregoryBSadler]

People use the term "virtue" in multiple ways. An "admirable" person might have virtue, if they are genuinely admirable (for that).

[@ramenman_]

this is super good arigato gosaimasu

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you enjoy it

[@ramenman_]

@@GregoryBSadler no way you responded......thank you

[@otherdrummer5409]

I find it rather odd that within this dialogue they keep referring to people who are indeed virtuous... but how do they know they are virtue if they cannot even DEFINE what virtue is? Should one of the questions Socrates asks be: How do these supposed virtuous people know they are actually virtuous?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, just possibly knowledge isn't actually being able to provide a definition in every case - Plato writes dialogues, with things going on in multiple levels.

[@universe36]

I think there is a problem with the underlying premise that those with knowledge of virtue can teach effectively. And thus if they cant teach effectively, they do not have knowledge according to Socrates. Knowledge of a subject does not mean effective ability to teach. There are many people who are in different professions who may know the subject but fail at teaching others effectively due to a poor ability to communicate their knowledge. You could have a good father who tries to teach you virtue, he may know virtue, but fail in applying effective methods of teaching. Further, virtue needs to be taught in conjunction with some form of real world experience. Maybe the true problem is not the lack of knowledge of virtue, but a general lack of knowledge of how to teach virtue.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yes, the dialogues are there to get to do thinking like this

[@wanderingpots]

Did Socrates come from another place other than Athens ? He doesn't look very Greek, if he wasn't from Athens, where do you think he would come from, based on his ideas, portrayed by Plato and Aristophanes ? Also his name 'Socrates' means something like general power in Greek, isn't his name too representative of his life and ideas, for him not to be a character in his own supposed philosophy ?

[@GregoryBSadler]

No, Socrates was born in Athens, and lived nearly all of his life there. His name does not mean something like general power, and it's not symbolic of anything .

[@wanderingpots]

Ok, thanks for that, so I was checking Socrates supposed parents and his mothers name Phaenarete , which means she who brings virtue to light, interesting at least. I was wondering how you are so certain, I know there are about 3 independent written documentations or sources from the time of Socrates existence and this is quite a lot for the time, but I can't help thinking he seems like a wondering mystic and to a point mythic character, perhaps influenced by Zoroastrianism.

[@GregoryBSadler]

It's pretty simple. He's born in Athens in a deme, and participates as a citizen in its politics (read Plato's dialogues). There are two sources that count for scholars -- Plato and Xenophon. If you want to know about Socrates, you read those. Nobody really takes Aristophanes seriously as a source parallel to those two. He's a historical person, not a "mythic character". He wasn't a "wandering mystic" -- he left Athens only to go on military assignment. And he wasn't influenced by Zoroastrianism. Seriously, if you want to know about the guy, read Plato, then read Xenophon

[@Kwintessential2]

I am still trying to understand the notion of virtue.

[@GregoryBSadler]

There's plenty of other videos you might watch -- and corresponding texts to read

[@jorger7723]

What is virtue? I think it must be a good to a serve some sort of end and a habit. I don't think we are born with it and like anything else it must be learned. I am taught certain things as a child because that is how things are. Like to greet people with a buenos dias or to keep my room neat or to never hit a girl. There is an accumulation of things before virtue is achieved and it must be a correct way and accepted as that is how things are.

[@Sara-md8nu]

Maybe he doesnt even know. Seems that way

[@GregoryBSadler]

When you read other Platonic dialogues you'll find out that Socrates - at least as Plato represents him - does know what virtue is

[@seth.daniels]

a lot of rabbit trails

[@GregoryBSadler]

that's the way Platonic dialogues - and really pretty much all other good philosophical dialogues - tend to work