It is typical of Plato's early dialogues, purported
by scholars to give the most historically accurate portrait of
Socrates, to be open-ended. One never really discovers
the true nature of the object being studied, but only discovers what it is
not. One shouldn't despair, however. In discovering what something
is not, our smug assumptions and our ignorance of the subject are dispelled.
This is real progress! Besides, if we really are committed to the
pursuit of truth, this ongoing process is a moving forward by picking up
the analysis where we last left off.