Section 1, 70-78 Summary and Analysis

Meno asks Socrates if virtue can be taught. Socrates says he has no idea of what is virtue and if he does not know what it is, he cannot teach it. Socrates then asks Meno, what he thinks is virtue, and to not just repeat Gorgias' thoughts, who is Meno's teacher. Meno explains that there are different kinds of virtue for men, for housewives, for old men, children, and slaves and so on. Socrates objects to this, since when people say the term "a bee," they mean a type of fly that has known properties, though it can have different properties and colors. Other qualities of human beings are the same for different people. Strength is the same for a man or a woman. Socrates then hypothesizes, what is virtue? For example, virtue, in the governing of a city...