On Virtue
Encyclopedia
On Virtue is a Socratic dialogue
attributed to Plato
, but which is considered spurious. In the short dialogue, Socrates
discusses with a friend questions about whether virtue can be taught. To answer this question, the author of the dialogue does little more than copy out a few passages from the Meno
almost word for word.
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue is a genre of prose literary works developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC, preserved today in the dialogues of Plato and the Socratic works of Xenophon - either dramatic or narrative - in which characters discuss moral and philosophical problems, illustrating a...
attributed to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, but which is considered spurious. In the short dialogue, Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
discusses with a friend questions about whether virtue can be taught. To answer this question, the author of the dialogue does little more than copy out a few passages from the Meno
Meno
Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. It attempts to determine the definition of virtue, or arete, meaning virtue in general, rather than particular virtues, such as justice or temperance. The first part of the work is written in the Socratic dialectical style and Meno is reduced to...
almost word for word.