Meno

I enjoyed this reading a lot more than the Apology reading. I found this one easier to understand. I also liked the story it told better than the other one. It was more of a story rather than just a telling of events. In the reading Meno and Socrates are trying to figure out what virtue is and how a person comes about it. Are they born with it? Do they learn through teachings? Or is virtue found in another way? Meno starts telling Socrates what he thinks it is but Socrates questions him to the point where he is unsure what virtue is anymore. After some questioning what was probably my favorite part occurred. Meno makes a point and says that Socrates is known for "bewitching and beguiling" people and thinks that is what Socrates is doing to him. He then insults him by saying that if you did this in places where people don't know you outside of Athens that they will charge you with sorcery. This part was funny to me.

I also enjoyed the meaning and wording of this text. It was easy to follow and the meaning behind the language was easy to understand. When Meno questioned Socrates about how he will find something when he didn't know what he was looking for, Socrates countered him with a math analogy. I thought that was clever and it not only helped Meno understand, but it also helps the reader.  The part I did not like was the ending. The entire story was questioning virtue but in the end they do not say what virtue is specifically. Socrates says you must search for the meaning of virtue. All he says is that it is "a gift from the gods". To me, this ending made the entire reading almost pointless because the subject of the reading, finding out what virtue is, was not found.