Virtue, what is it? Meno debated whether virtue is achieved through teaching, or instead by practice, or rather obtained by one's birth (58). Thus, he asks Socrates what he believes how virtue is acquired. While Socrates is looking for the meaning of one virtue, Meno is asking about various virtues. Socrates informs Meno that "all of them have one and the same form which makes them virtues" (61), thus looking for the meaning of one would be the same for all of them. He asks Meno for his views, and in return, Meno finally tells Socrates what he thinks what virtue is. .
According to Meno, virtue is "to desire beautiful things and have the power to acquire them" (66). However, Socrates disagrees, because a thief can do this. It is obvious to Socrates that Meno does not know what virtue is, and yet, neither does he. Meno gives his argument about inquiry. There is no need to search for something you already know, and if you do not know what you are searching for, then you will never know (81). .
Following this paradox, the theory of recollection was presented. The soul is immortal and goes through a cycle of death and rebirth. Since the soul "has been born often, and had seen all things here and in the underworld, there is nothing which it has not learned", which is theoretical knowledge (71). Thus, the immortal soul is able to recollect all things before, including virtue. To support his argument, Socrates asks one of Meno's slaves who had never been taught geometry. He gives a series of geometrical problems and asks the slave to work them out and answer the questions. The slave arrives at the correct answer after "recollecting", meaning he must have already possessed the knowledge. Meno and Socrates believe this argument to be true, but continue to find what they do not already know, which is what virtue is. The hypothesis method is used to find out if virtue is teachable or a natural gift.