Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

©2018 of 126 2.2 The Socratic Method The Socratic Method is named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates. It is a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving a discussion in which the defense of one point of view is questioned; one participant may lead another to contradict themselves in some way, thus weakening the defender's point. The Socratic Method brought philosophy out of the clouds and into the marketplace which meant the cities and houses of the people. The Socratic Method is an investigation of complex issues through a question-and-answer format which uses a dynamic approach of questioning ad intellectual analysis to draw answers out of people rather than lecture them. Socrates left no writings of his own. Much of what we learned about him has come from other sources. The richest source comes from his Dialogues which were short dramas written by Socrates’ student and disciple, Plato. Plato wrote the Dialogues years after Socrates’ death and most agree the initial Dialogues are faithful portrayals of Socrates’ ideas. Another major source of our knowledge has come from another of Socrates’ students, Xenophon, who was a soldier and writer whose best known work is his Memorabilia. He records Socrates asking, “Where does one go to learn to become an honest man?” He responds, “Come with me and I’ll show you.” The agora, which means ‘open marketplace’ in Athens, was a place where crowds would gather for political speeches and discussions, which was Socrates’ true home. Intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, Socrates loved the crowd and human energy of this social core. Socrates claimed it was the people of the city who taught him. What seemed to be a recurring theme was his role as an intellectual midwife, assisting in the birth of the people’s ideas. He believed his special wisdom consisted in his ability to stimulate and guide others in the philosophical exploration of profound questions enabling them to give birth to their own understanding. In ancient Greece, an oracle was a religious shrine where a specifically designated priestess would provide answers on behalf of the gods to questions asked by visitors. The most famous was The Oracle at Delphi, which was housed in the great temple to the god Apollo. This was the most sacred sanctuary for the ancient Greeks, and they considered this area the center of the world, thus marking the site with a large conical stone. One of the most famous announcements during Socrates’ era came from The Oracle at Delphi: “No man was wiser than Socrates,” which was delivered when Socrates was only 30 years old. Another famous writing, The Apology by Plato, reveals that Socrates did not accept this authoritative statement at face value and that he set out to gather evidence to prove or disprove its truth. For Socrates, everything in the human experience should be open to critical scrutiny, not in a negative destructive way, but in a constructive effort to help achieve a clearer understanding. Socrates was convinced that reason was the path to the truth, not opinion; further, he was willing to follow inquiry wherever it might lead, even if it meant demonstrating that he was not the wisest man. Socrates discovered that those people thought to be wise are unable to articulate their ideas with clarity, logical soundness, and a compelling rationale. Socrates did take delight in unmasking pretension, deflating oversized egos, and revealing the emptiness and illogic of unexamined beliefs. Socrates concluded that his investigations did not prove that he is the wisest man, only that he is a little wiser than others Achieve Page 19