Nothing But A Good Guess
... True opinions cannot be taught because they lack a proven fact to teach, it is only a believed guess that happens to be true. ... Socrates suggests that the sophists are good teachers of virtue because they are “…those who profess to be teachers of virtue and have shown themselves to be available to any Greek who wishes to learn. ... Themistocles, Aristides, Pericles, and Thucydides were all considered to be very virtuous, good men in the Athenian community. ... In one of Theognis’ poems he clearly says that virtue can be taught, “Please those whose power is great, for you will learn goodness from the good.” (Meno 95d) and later in the same poem contradicts himself by saying “Never would a bad son be born of a good father, for he would be persuaded by wise words, but you will never make a bad man good by teaching. ... The argument that Socrates wishes to reexamine begins with the premise virtue is good. Socrates obtains this premise by asking Meno “Do we say that virtue is itself something good? ... It is obvious that virtue is something good because it is through virtue that good things are done. ... If virtue is good then it is evident that “…all that is good is beneficial. ... The argument with its conclusion reads: Virtue is something good. Good things are beneficent. Since good things are beneficent and virtue is something good, then virtue is beneficent.