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Advantages and disadvantages of the Socratic method
I wish that Plato (427-347 BC) had taken the trouble to state the drawbacks of the Socratic method, or at least, to accept that there are few true philosophical victories in Socrates’ debates. Indeed, he had a brilliant mind and a passion for refuting weak arguments, but did he actually reveal the path to follow?…
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What is the Socratic questioning technique?
Socrates used to start every debate by asking “What exactly do you mean?” He was prompting his opponent to define his ideas and terms of engagement. Was the debate about ethics, or only about courage in war? Are we discussing only a specific case, or are we talking about general truths? When the opponent showed…
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The Socratic method in everyday life
Philosophy gurus try to sell us ready-made solutions that, so they say, can solve our lives’ problems. Socrates did something better. Instead of offering ready-made solutions, he provided us a method to find the answers ourselves. His approach has vast advantages and, through the centuries, has proven remarkably effective. The Socratic method is designed for…
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Strategy in the Socratic method
Questions lead to different answers depending on how they are asked and in which sequence. Without the right strategy, it is unlikely that questioning will lead to the truth; once a debate starts meandering, it is hard to get it back on track. That’s why it is crucially important, from the very beginning, to devise…
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Examples of questions in the Socratic method
It seems difficult to believe that you can get ahead in life just by asking questions, but is this not what Socrates did? Did he not claim that we can find out the truth just by asking a torrent of questions to other people or to ourselves? Not exactly. The Socratic method is more subtle…
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Vested interests in the Socratic method
Philosophy, like all other social sciences, carries enormous vested interests on its shoulders. For instance, it makes a world of difference whether one endorses the ideas of Plato (427-347 BC) or those of Aristotle (384-322 BC). In the case of Socrates, there is a large difference between the defenders and the critics of the Socratic…
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Structure of the Socratic method
The Socratic method employs pre-Aristotelian logic, that is, a logic that is not structured in syllogisms. Socrates didn’t start his debates with a general statement and then, little by little, in a sequence of steps, built a waterproof philosophical argument. After Socrates’ death in 399 BC, it took two generations to arrive at the Aristotelian…
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Elements of the Socratic method
I am fond of saying that Socrates did not create the Socratic method, and neither did Plato in his philosophical depictions of Socrates’ debates. Neither Socrates nor Plato claimed to have discovered a new approach to epistemology; they only claimed that, if we ask a lot of questions, chances are that we will stumble upon…
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Strengths and weaknesses of the Socratic method
Philosophy historians praise Socrates for having conceived an original method of inquiry. They claim that his approach to philosophy was far superior to anything attempted before him. They regard the Socratic method as a key epistemological innovation that still proves valuable nowadays in areas such as education, courtroom cross-examinations, cognitive therapy or coaching in general.…
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Schopenhauer: How I became a hardcore realist
I didn’t become a hardcore realist because life became harder. I became one because two philosophers forced me to question almost everything I believed. Their names are Kant and Schopenhauer. For years, I believed the world worked the way I had been told. And I did what I had been told to do. Work hard.…
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Recent Posts
- Advantages and disadvantages of the Socratic method
- What is the Socratic questioning technique?
- The Socratic method in everyday life
- Strategy in the Socratic method
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