Every good education needs to include a study of Plato’s works. There are several reason’s why this is true. In fact, reading Plato is so important for people today that I have written an entire section to try to persuade you. (Include link to little essay on reading plato). His writings are the best introduction to (the best of) serious thinking.
Thankfully, Plato’s writings are not only excellent works of philosophy - they are also superb works of literature. They are well-written and easy to read. The concepts they contain are as deep as human thought is capable of, and yet, they are presented in simple and entertaining ways. Do not expect that Plato’s writings are thick and boring just because they are studied by academics. Plato wrote dialogues that were meant to be read aloud to groups of people. He wrote them to be engaging and enjoyable as well as profitable.
Not all of Plato’s works are easily accessible to casual readers (and younger readers). Some of his later works are convoluted and require perseverance of the reader. However, most of his early works can be read profitably by anyone over the age of 16. These earlier dialogues are each centred around Socrates (read more about him here). We follow this highly intelligent man as he goes around Athens having conversations with various people. Young people have a lot to gain by reading the dialogues, and re-reading them again as they mature.
In this particular work Socrates is debating with a young aristocratic man named Meno. They talk about virtue. What is it, and how do we acquire it? Is virtue something that you can learn and teach? Meno was something like an ancient aristocratic knight. His ideas are similar to medieval ideas of chivalry. However, Socrates shows him that there is much more to being virtuous than he ever thought.
his is one of the best books ever written about what it means to be virtuous, and about education. Can education make people more virtuous? This work is a bit longer than some of Plato’s writings. It is a very important book and it is well worth the trouble it takes to read it. One of my favourite Plato works.
