Meno
Write an analysis of one of the issues from Plato's Meno that we discussed in class:

• What is virtue? Who decides what is or isn't virtuous, or what virtues are "right"? Can virtues be right for some people and wrong for others? What happens when differing beliefs of virtue collide? How is it possible for virtue to be both beneficial and harmful?
• What is the difference between knowledge as Socrates describes it and simply having a true opinion? What is the benefit of understanding how and why something is? How can we ever "know" if we know something? If knowledge is so difficult (or impossible) to attain, what is the purpose of pursuing it?
• Can knowledge be taught? What exactly is teaching? We have seen a couple example in Crito and Meno of the "Socratic Method"—basically asking a bunch of questions until the student arrives at an answer. Is this teaching? If so, what does it teach and how does it work? If not, why not? What does it lack in order to be considered teaching?
• Socrates believed it was better to know nothing than to "know" something wrong; a clean slate allows a person to seek the truth. Even ideas you believe to be "right" should be evaluated and re-evaluated, in order that you constantly improve yourself and your beliefs. How does this concept relate to English class?

Some of these issues may tie together with others, so this could be a difficult paper. Be sure you stick to your main thesis in this paper and don't get caught discussing a seemingly-related tangent. These different issues all tie in together, but you will still want to focus mainly on one idea, one thesis.

You may want to focus specifically on a certain aspect of your issue:

• Does your issue only apply to academic discussions, or can these ideas relate to life outside the university? For example, is the concept of virtue only important in classroom discussions, or should people contemplate such issues in their everyday lives?
• How does this issue relate to English class? Many of the topics from Plato would be considered more philosophical than English-related. Why is an understanding of your issue important to the main topics of this class (argument and analysis)?

This paper is due Thursday, March 7^th.