Socrates: The Best of Socrates: The Founding Philosophies of Ethics, Virtues & Life

by William Hackett

This is what Socrates wanted to get at: the notion that students are responsible for arriving at their own conclusions, and should be prompted to pursue truth of their own volition.

This newly developed skill in critical thinking will serve the students for years to come, as they encounter new and challenging circumstances in their lives. The students will be able to think for themselves instead of regurgitating knowledge.

Socrates firmly believed that it was his acceptance of ignorance that made him far wiser than folk who still believed they knew but did not.

Makes perfect sense

For Socrates, then, the Socratic Method is the key to pursuing a just, virtuous life worth living: the “good life.” Only through constant examination, and by pointedly avoiding assumptions and aiming to delve deeply into all aspects of our lives, can we reach the ultimate goal of living our lives according to Socrates’ definition of excellence.

By all means, the Socratic circle does not take the form of a debate or argument- rather, the entire body of learners is supposed to work together constructively and arrive at answers rather than having one of the learners score a “victory” in the argument.

engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue, as opposed to memorizing blocks of information that has already been provided for them, they will gain a lot more understanding of concepts that may be drawn from the text.

The purpose of the dialectic is not to prove or disprove a particular point; rather, it’s to explore all possibilities, with both of the participants in the conversation eventually reaching a new level of understanding. Were the focus of the conversation to be on one person being “right,” this would imply a pre-existing awareness of what’s correct and what’s not. In other words, it would run in sharp contrast to Socrates’ position that he “knows that he knows nothing.” There is, perhaps, much to be gained in our modern world (full as it is full of conflict) from adopting the Socratic approach to dialogue.