Theories about whether or not virtue can be taught - Essay Example

Virtue Virtue is one of the fundamental qualities that distinguish a good and well-mannered individual from an ill-mannered person. ““virtue” is really three things: the knowledge of right and wrong, the ability to discern right from wrong, and the final right action the man takes” (inspirationalwriting.info, 1990). If the opinion of Socrates which implies that courage is knowledge is held, then courage can be taught in the same way as other forms of knowledge including math, physics, and language (Muller, n.d.). Plato wrote Meno many years after the Laches. In the Meno, Socrates states that virtuous and wise people are not very good at imparting these qualities to others. For example, while Thermistocles, the Athenian statesman and soldier could teach the skills of shooting javelins and standing upright to his son Cleophantus, no one ever stated about Cleophantus that he was virtuous and wise, and this holds true for Pericles and his sons Xanthippus and Paralus; Lysimachus and Aristides, his son; and Thucydides and his sons Stephanus and Melesias. Since there are apparently no teachers of virtue, it was inferred by Socrates that it is not possible to teach virtue; and since it cannot be taught, virtue cannot be translated as a kind of knowledge. Meno questions that if it is not possible to teach virtue, then how could good men exist? Socrates retorts that Meno and he overlooked that it is possible to execute a right action without knowledge. This can be explained in terms of the quality of guidance offered by two men to Larisa, one of whom has been there whereas the other just knows about the way and has never actually been to Larisa. Of the two, the one who knows the way to Larisa would serve as a good guide, but so would be the other man who has never been to Larisa. If it is believed that truth as a guide is just as good as the man who is aware of that truth, it implies that a correct opinion is no less good a guide for the correct action than knowledge. In this case, Meno wonders what the factors that distinguish knowledge from correct opinion are, and also asks why should knowledge be preferred over correct opinion or vice versa? Socrates addresses these questions by saying that correct opinions can be interpreted as Daedalus’s statues, who was a highly skilled craftsman and mythological architect. The statues of Daedalus needed to be tied to prevent them from running away. Similarly, it is possible to tie down the correct opinions with the reason whereupon they discontinue being correct opinions and becoming a form of knowledge. As virtue cannot be interpreted in terms of knowledge, what is left is for it to be the right opinion. This lays down explanation for the inability of such virtuous men as Pericles, Lysimachus, Thucydides, and Thermistocles to transfer their virtue into others. Virtuous men are like poets and soothsayers whose tendency to say true things is driven by their inspiration, but lack the real knowledge of what they talk about. It is extremely rare to find a virtuous man with the ability to transfer his virtue into others. While virtue cannot be taught really, it can, at least, be learned in part (KevinCK, 2009). It is very unusual to think of a class based on virtue, but students have a tendency to be influenced by their surroundings and the people they meet in life. Their tendency to be influenced is primarily why parents are very concerned about who their child spends the time with. The people around the students do not necessarily have the intention of teaching them in order to be able to influence them. This is also primarily the reason why teachers are expected and advised to display high ethical conduct. Teachers serve as the role models for the students and whatever they do is likely to be copied by the students, at least to some extent. In addition to the conception of learning virtue from the people around them, students also learn virtue through experience. Students try the ideas and moral behavior exhibited by others in their own life scenarios. They tend to learn from their own mistakes. An example of this could be a child learning not to lie only after he has disappointed a friend by lying to him. Similarly, a child may learn the value of humility by being egregiously incorrect about a matter he/she was previously confident about. Sometimes, an experience may also adjust the sense of virtue of an individual when he/she goes through an unvirtuous experience. This may happen when a thief only realizes the pain caused by theft when one of his own possessions gets stolen. Similarly, when an individual who brags is confronted with other bragging people, he may realize that the tendency to brag is very annoying. It is also noteworthy that Socrates “also holds that real knowledge, even in mathematics, does not get imparted by a teacher; it is something you find in yourself when suitably prompted… What perhaps can be imparted is correct opinion; but, unlike knowledge, correct opinion is unstable and therefore cannot constitute virtue” (Muller, n.d.). So the emphasis is more on learning than being taught virtue. To conclude, while there are different theories about whether or not virtue can be taught, there is no doubt in the fact that virtue can be learned. Plato alludes that virtue is inborn which is why people vary in their tendency to be virtuous in the same situations. But the fact that virtue is inborn does not deprive an individual of the tendency to learn it. Just like virtues can be instructed in but an individual may not be successful in incorporating virtue into the daily life activities, people can also modify their views and opinions about virtue over the passage of time. Reflective practice helps people become more virtuous. This leads to the conclusion that the question of Plato whether it is possible to teach virtue can be rephrased to whether it is possible to learn virtue. References: Inspirationalwriting.info. (1990). Can virtue be taught? Retrieved from http://inspirationalwriting.info/virtuetaught.htm. KevinCK. (2009). Can Virtue Be Taught? Reflections on Plato’s Meno Dialogue. Retrieved from http://edphilosopher.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/can-virtue-be-taught-reflections-on-platos-meno-dialogue/. Muller, A. W. (n.d.) Teaching virtue. Retrieved from http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/20312/meuller.pdf. Read More