The, By Plato, The Question, What Is Virtue - 1367 Words

In Protagoras by Plato, the question â€Å"what is virtue?† is being assessed. They come to many definitions of virtue but one definition that is being discussed is that virtue has five different components, this can be seen on page 46 at 349d of Plato’s Protagoras. Protagoras states, â€Å"What I am saying to you, Socrates, is that all these are parts of virtue, and that while four of them are reasonably close to each other, courage is completely different from all the rest. The proof that what I am saying is true is that you will find many people who are extremely unjust, impious, intemperate, and ignorant, and yet exceptionally courageous† (Plato 46). In order to understand this quote we need to assess: why it is significant, how courage is†¦show more content†¦By the end of the book, Protagoras actually changes his thinking. He now believes that virtue can’t be taught. This comes as a shock. Up until this point, Protagoras claims that he can teach something that he himself said was unteachable. At this point in the story, Socrates is now trying to figure out why Protagoras is saying that courage is different from the other parts of virtue that he listed. Courage differs from the other parts of virtue that are listed in the sense that courage is psychological, controllable, and it has the ability to be changed, whereas the other parts are something that you are born with. Courage can be changed and controlled because you can learn or push yourself to do things that you were once scared to do. This also bring in the fact of courage being a psychological force. Courage can be considered psychological because it is something that is going on in someone’s head that he/ she believes cannot be changed, but with effort and multiple attempts it could possibly become something that he/ she enjoys doing on a daily basis. For example, if you’re are scared of heights you could talk yourself into going to the top of a m ountain and then you might find out that you enjoy going hiking. When it comes to the other four parts however, this isn’t the case. For example, with impiety if you don’t think the Gods deserve respect you’re not going to wake up one morning and respectShow MoreRelatedWeaknesses Of Plato1262 Words   |  6 PagesIn the Meno, Plato justifies the possibility for one’s mind to uncover knowledge. Knowing one can obtain knowledge motivates the mind to gain more knowledge. Plato explains the theory of recollection by first questioning what virtue is, then demonstrating the process through the questioning of a slave boy. Although a few weaknesses present themselves in Plato’s argument, Plato presents a valid theory on how our minds can obtain knowledge. 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