Book Description
This digital document is an article from Philosophy East and West, published by University of Hawaii Press on July 1, 2003. The length of the article is 17082 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation Details
Title: Meno and Mencius: two philosophical dramas.
Author: Marthe Chandler
Publication: Philosophy East and West (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 2003
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Page: 367(33)Distributed by Thompson Gale

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The conversations between Meno and Socrates and between Mencius and King Xuan are philosophical dramas whose "plots" are intellectual arguments. Although both texts present historical characters at particular times in their lives, the texts were written some years after the events they describe by disciples of Socrates and Mencius. The authors had a number of motives: they wanted to represent what the characters thought and said, to explain the philosophical theories underlying the dramatic plots, and to justify the failure of their mentors to teach something very important. Meno did not learn how to live a good life. Xuan did not become a sage king. It is argued here that while both dramas end in failure, Socrates leaves the conversation...