Plato 8.5 The Road Not Taken
As the conversation winds down, Protagoras refuses to answer any more questions. He recognizes that Socrates has won the day. But Socrates protests that he is only interested in understanding virtue, not in winning. And he is not quite done.
“The end of our conversations,” he interjects, “seems to me to be accusing and mocking us like a man, and if it could speak it would say, ‘You are ridiculous, Socrates and Protagoras. You, Socrates, whereas you said at the outset that virtue was not teachable, now strive to contradict yourself, maintaining that all virtues are knowledge, including justice, temperance, and courage, which would obviously mean virtue is teachable. But if virtue were something other than knowledge, as Protagoras is wanting to say, clearly it would not be teachable. . .’.”[18] There is an underlying tension that has not been addressed. If virtue is knowledge, it should be teachable; if it is not knowledge, it should not be teachable. But Socrates holds virtue is knowledge but is not teachable, and Protagoras the opposite. We at least need to confront the teachability question head-on.
“I praise you for your zeal and perseverance in discussion,” replies Protagoras. “As I’m not a sore loser, I don’t begrudge you your success; I’ve often said in public that of everyone I’ve met I admire you most, especially among those of your generation. And I declare that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you become renowned for your wisdom.” But it is now time for the sophist to discuss other matters. Finding the truth is not a priority.
“After these exchanges,” recounts Socrates, “we left.”
For Socrates, each solution seems to lead to another problem, which invites further scrutiny. The toils of philosophy are apparently never-ending. But he is endlessly fascinated with the search for answers.
Socrates’ last sentence signifies without fanfare that Hippocrates departed with him. Socrates 1, Sophists 0.
But what is the answer to the new question? If virtue is knowledge, how can it not be teachable?
On the other hand, if Socrates asks you what virtue is, is it because he does not know, or because you already know the answer — even if you don’t know you know?
[18].Plato Protagoras 361a-b.
