In the Meno, the main question throughout the whole dialogue is can virtue be taught? Also whether virtue comes to us by nature or by other ways? In reply to Meno’s question, Socrates responds that in order to answer this first they must know what virtue is and its qualities. After his third definition of virtue, Meno gives up and came up with a paradox. The paradox as he stated: “How will you look for it, Socrates, when you do not know at all what it is? How will...If you should meet with it, how will you know that this is the thing that you did not know” (Meno; 80d)? In general, this is saying that if you do not know what you see then how can you learn about it since you don’t know what it is or if you know what it is then there is no need …show more content…
He told Meno to think whether this is learning our recollection (Meno; 82b). First, it is established the boy knows what a square is and the features that make it a square. Socrates assured Meno that all he will do is questioning the boy not teaching him. The slave boy know that two times two is four and so if each side of the square is two feet long then the area of the square would be four. Then he ask what is the length of the sides of a figure double the size of the previous one. The boy said eight because he thinks the size will double when the sides doubled, exactly what Socrates wanted him to believe. The resulted figure is four times bigger than the original. He tricks the slave boy again by saying he wants to know how to draw a square with an area of eight squared feet. The boy, led on by Socrates, answered that a side length of three would make an area of eight squared feet, but of course it was nine instead. In the end the boy admits that he does not know the right answer. Socrates clarifies that the slave boy started out by thinking he didn't know, and then thought he did, and then relapse into thinking that he didn't know. The boy benefitted and he has not been harmed by having been made "perplexed and numbed as the torpedo fish does" (Meno; 84b-d). Socrates the resume his demonstration by drawing a diagonal line through each of the four inner square which is half times