“In order to improve yourself, Socrates insists, you have to know yourself,” said philosopher Judith Barad. Socrates hasn’t been around since ancient Athens, Greece, but the method of inquiry and self-examination he pioneered is still valid and has a lot to recommend it. “Socrates was the first to call philosophy down from the heavens and establish it in the towns and introduce it into homes and force it to investigate life, ethics, good and evil,” according to also-significant Roman orator Cicero. “Socrates’ method was to go about, as he said himself, ‘cross-examining the pretenders to knowledge and wisdom,’ and by the cross-examination, showing them that they were in error, that what they supposed they knew, they did not know,” noted the luminary Mortimer Adler. This blog is about Socratic dialogue – how to appreciate it, and what it can do.
Socrates is famous for many aphorisms, not the least of which being:
- “In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one being an innate desire of pleasure; the other, an acquired judgment which aspires after excellence.”
- “The epithet ‘wise’ is too great and befits God alone; but the name ‘philosopher,’ that is, ‘lover of wisdom,’ or something of the sort, would be more fitting and modest for a man.”
- “And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all.”
- “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
There is something called Socratic dialogue. Essentially, two individuals engage in a conversation – a dialectic, as it is known – and they try to figure out the nature of the question and try to formulate an answer that is logical, rational, true, and correct. It’s not easy, but it is probably better to have a knowledgeable person work in concert with you if you are trying to figure out truth. This takes wisdom, obviously. Though it is not quite ready to be “an app,” there is something about the Socratic method that can be learned and useful to an individual even sans interlocutor, if you will. Thus, I will share with you my notes on what Socratic dialogue is all about. May it lead you one step closer to wisdom! I would also urge you to visit the Wisdom Archive here on this site to search for quotations on wisdom that are superb and useful.
- The “why” can lead to more questions, rather than an answer
- All the disciplines evolved out of philosophy proper
- The “art of philosophizing”
- Share one’s deepest ideas and questions/li>
- Systematic
- Encouraging listening: what do you really mean? Regardless of my opinion
- “Tacking in the wind” is a metaphor for eventually moving forward
- Our backgrounds are very important in determining beliefs.
- Open up our positions; reflect on the experiences behind them; come to an understanding of what they mean; make decisions & policies which reflect deepened understanding
- “The socialization process prepares us to defend our identity from any perceived threat”
- “We hold tight to the rightness of some position with which we identify ourselves”
- There are different styles of questioning – loose, structured, etc.
- Dialogue: a commitment to openness and indeterminacy
- Starts with a relationship, a way of being with another, which facilitates “knowledge creation”
- Dialogue is different than debate. People can do it differently if they question “egocentric, unarticulated” beliefs. “Being right” is a big part of the problem. Debate hinders getting to the “complex middle”
- You do not “agree to disagree,” you disagree and then explore rather than rebut
- Shared humanity
- Generates new possibilities, creates new meanings, fosters subtleties of distinctions
- Discover your values more than the rightness or wrongness
- Reduce defensiveness, make it not about the “self”
- You kind of take the belief in question and put it outside the person, almost observing it there in the room between the two dialoguers. One of my greatest strengths will be to be able to talk about a decision or opinion in terms of a value.
Categories of Socratic Questions
- Questions that clarify
- “What do you think the main issue is here?”
- “What do you mean by ___courage___?”
- “How does __courage__ relate to __fortitude__?”
- “Could you put that another way?”
- “What is the main issue here?”
- “How does this relate to __courage__?”
- “Give an example”
- “Say more about that”
- “Why do you say that?”
- “Could you explain that further?”
- Questions that probe assumptions
- “You seem to be assuming _______. How can would you justify this?”
- “What is this person next to you assuming (to another)?”
- “Your reasoning seems to hinge on the idea that _____. Why have you based your reasoning on that rather than ________?”
- “Is this always the case?”
- Questions that probe reasons, evidence & causes
- “How do you know? / Why do you say that? / Why do you believe that?”
- “Please give us an example”
- “What are your reasons for saying that?”
- “Is that good evidence for believing _____?”
- “Is it possible that you emotionally want to believe that, so you do?”
- “What reasons do we have to doubt this premise (or conclusion)?”
- “What are the premises here?”
- “How could we go about finding whether this is true or false?”
- “What is your analysis of the problem?”
- Questions regarding viewpoints or perspectives
- “What is an alternative?”
- “What does that opinion mean about your values?”
- “How would you answer the objection that Paul Krugman would make?”
- “What would someone who disagrees say?”
- “How are Ken and John’s opinions different? Similar?”
- “What are some of the foundations in your history for this belief developing?”
- Questions that probe implications and consequences involve predictions
- “If that happened, what else would also happen as a result?”
- “What moral theory can shed light on this issue?”
- “What are you implying by that?”
- “Is it going to work out the way you suggest?”
- “What needs to be done to implement your idea?”
- “If your conclusions are correct, what might be the reaction of the Japanese auto industry?”
- Questions about the question
- “Do we need facts to answer this question?”
- “Is the question clear?”
- “How can we find out?”
- “Is this question hard to answer?”
I hope you enjoyed this look at Socratic dialogue. More information on the Socratic dialogue can be found here. I also welcome you to listen to the podcast on the dialectic interview on this page (under How We Ought to Live.