Virtue and Teachability

We were unable to discuss this subject in class so I thought it would be an appropriate topic to visit here. I take issue with Socrates' evidence in "Meno" that virtue cannot be taught. Note I am not arguing that it can or cannot be. I just think that the topic needs to be analyzed more thoroughly before we accept Socrates' assertion.

Socrates made two points to prove that virtue is unteachable. First, he states that he has seen no teachers of virtue and that a topic without teachers cannot be taught (89e). Second, he showed that even good fathers who teach virtue to their sons sometimes have bad sons (93c-94b).

I disagree with Socrates’ first point since it is inconsistent with other disciplines. I find that even if a topic has no teachers, it could theoretically be taught. Take for example if it were forbidden to open a human body. It would then also be impossible to analyze and teach about human organs. There would, therefore, be no teachers of human biology. Just because there are no teachers does it mean that human biology is “unteachable?” Of course not! Although the subject is not being taught, it does not mean that in some alternate set of circumstances it could not be taught. Development is based upon discovering something and teaching about that discovery. If virtue can be compared to other tangible ideas (as Socrates argues) then it must also follow the pattern that absence does not imply impossibility.

Socrates’ second example is also poor because he does not consider free will as a variable in the human spirit. For example, if person A teaches person B how to build a boat, and B disregards A’s instruction, and B’s boat sinks, does that mean he was not taught? No! It means that either he did not properly follow A’s instruction or A was a poor teacher. The same occurs with virtue. A father can constantly teach his son virtue, but it is still the son’s choice whether or not to follow. Failure, like absence, also does not imply impossibility.

In both cases, Socrates points out the possibility that virtue is unteachable. However, neither example presents a solid case for his argument. Again, I do not claim to know the answer of whether virtue can be taught. I am just unconvinced by Socrates’ “definitive” evidence of unteachability.