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SUMMARY:Beacon Salon # 15 Meno\, by Plato: Can Excellence be Taught? - Eri
 c Rees\, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
DTSTART:20190726T143000Z
DTEND:20190726T153000Z
UID:TALK127450@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Eric Rees
DESCRIPTION:The seminars are open to all\, and research students at CEB an
 d MedImmune are especially invited to attend. The talks will be about 30-4
 5 minutes long\, and questions are encouraged which open up new avenues fo
 r discussion. Tea and biscuits will be  provided.\n\nIn Greek philosophy\,
  ‘virtue’ or ‘excellence’ is an underlying trait which leads some 
 people to achieve success in life. The question of whether this excellence
  can be taught is still very important to us\, at university\, today – b
 ecause an essential reason for studying (or teaching) a university degree 
 course is precisely the belief that we can be trained in excellence\, not 
 just in some specific technical skills but more general ‘transferrable
 ’ excellence. Anyone who has ever spent a day (and\, presumably\, some m
 oney) attending a management or leadership skills course will probably hav
 e wondered to themselves whether there was any point to it. Is there actua
 lly a way to learn excellence\, or is the whole business a waste of time? 
 This timeless question is addressed by the legendary Greek Philosopher\, P
 lato\, in a story featuring the protagonist Socrates\, and his less brilli
 ant friend\, Meno.\n\nFor anyone who wishes to skim Plato’s Meno in adva
 nce\, my somewhat fanciful audiobook version of the dialogue is available 
 for free on Youtube.\n\nMy audiobook version: https://www.youtube.com/watc
 h?v=fwJNs7mU6dw \n
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 3\, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotec
 hnology\, West Cambridge Site
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