The Socratic Method ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ Σωκράτης Callie Dawson and Hans Corbell Socrates & the Socratic Method ● Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is credited with laying the fundamentals of modern Western philosophy. ● He is known for creating Socratic irony and the Socratic method, and also for his profound influence on Western philosophy, along with his students Plato and Aristotle. ● Socrates taught his students by presenting multiple questions in effort to partake in critical thinking, reasoning, and logic. ● In a typical Socratic dialogue, Socrates will ask a person to define a generalized and ambiguous concept, such as piety or love. After the answer is given, Socrates will follow up with another question aimed at revealing a contradiction in the response, an exception to it, or something else that is problematic. The questioning and answering then continues until one has the impression that there are no clear answers. Modern use of the Socratic Method: ● The Socratic method is still used today in modern Law and legal systems. ● It does not only pertain to people involved in law systems, but anyone can use this method in communication. ● The Socratic approach involves a conversation in which a person is asked to question their assumptions. It is a forum for open-ended inquiry , one in which both student and teacher can use investigative questions to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. ● Ex.) In law school specifically, a professor will ask a series of socratic questions after having a student summarize a case, in an effort to dive deeper into the case and explore every possible court ruling or opposing argument. ● the Socratic method challenges the student to be quick-witted and challenged them to carefully articulate their thoughts. Sources: https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/socratic-teaching/606 https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/810 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Socratic%20method https://onlinelaw.wustl.edu/blog/the-socratic-method-why-its-important-to-the-stu dy-of-law/.