Irony and Insight in Plato’s Meno

Abstract

At the "meno's" end, virtue comes through divine dispensation apart from understanding, but there are indications in the closing pages that plato does not seriously intend this conclusion. Moreover, dramatic relationships and logical arguments in the dialogue reinforce the irony of the ending. I argue that plato employs dramatic irony to show that meno goes wrong in believing that only knowledge can be taught and in thinking that virtue's not being "didakton" entails that it cannot in principle be taught. By giving his reader more insight that meno, plato positions us to appreciate that meno still lacks the truth about virtue's origin as well as its nature.