The Socratic Method

What is the best way to create change? What is the best way to get answers? What is the best way to teach? The best way to create a positive influence? To change someone's mind?

Ironically, the answer to all those questions IS the question itself. This method of inquiry is known as the Socratic Method. It basically involves a repeated series of questions until a satisfactory solution comes to the surface. I may be bastardizing the formal definition of the Socratic Method, but that's something I'm willing to do for this post's sake.

First, a (very) brief background on Socrates and the Socratic Method. Socrates was the teacher of Plato. Plato included Socrates in a number of his dialogues. Socrates solved philosophical questions by asking questions of those around him. In a way, he embodied the truism, "You can learn something from everyone."

With that out of the way, let me explain why I think the Socratic Method is one of the most powerful tools that any rational person can have in their toolbox. In reality, as seen from the introduction, the Socratic Method has applications in psychology, politics, science, education, creativity, personal growth, and many other fields.

For example, in psychology, say you have this really, really irrational fear. Let's just take a hypothetical one like, say, fear of intimacy. With that as the base fear, you can then ask, "Why am I really afraid of intimacy? Does it threaten my life, my reputation, etc.? Or is it really just a completely irrational fear?" These questions will more often than not lead to more questions, and that's okay. Just continue the process as deep as you can. Eventually, you'll end up at the bottom of the pit you've dug, looking up at the light, and wondering what was so scary in the first place.

In terms of political hutzpah, everyone knows how hard it is to change someone's mind about a topic that they are "sure" of (whether that sureness is warranted or not). That's because you can't really change someone else's mind. That's impossible. All you can do is present them with information, ask them questions about it, and then allow them to come to own conclusions.¹ Want to prove that Global Warming, the capitalized variety, isn't real? Present all the graphs, figures, and facts, ask the person, "Do you really think, according to these graphs and common sense, that people could effect something as big as the climate of the earth?" Then let them come to their conclusion. Want to prove to the contrary? Just do the same, ask the same questions, bake, and let cool. You're not going to change someone's mind, honestly change it, via brute force. You may get the person to mouth that they agree with you, but deep down, they don't. Only by allowing them to come to their own conclusions will you win hearts and minds.

For education, the Socratic Method should be THE way to teach. Unfortunately, we've shifted about as far away from it as possible. We live in the age of standardarized testing where we pretend reality may be summed up in A, B, C, or D. In fact, the only class that I currently have that utilizes the Socratic Method at all is AP English, but even that class uses watered down questions meant to lead us to SOMEONE ELSE'S conclusions. Theoretically, children allowed to learn through the Socratic Method would be more creative, possibly less hyperactive (because we'd allow them to think for themselves) and far more knowledgeable. In the meantime, we'll continue with the boring homework, tests, and prevalence of "ADHD."

I'm sure you get the general idea, but I'll present one more scenario to illustrate the Socratic Method. Say you're have a complete dirth ideas for a paper, novel, ODE, or blog post. Start a line of inquiry: "What would I be interested in writing about? Why don't I currently have something to write about? Could I write about (x) and be happy with it?" In a similar fashion, you could just brainstorm, but since this post isn't about brainstorming, I won't address that.

I'm just astounded by the strength of the Socratic Method. This is something that has been around for some 2500 years, but it's still one of the best ways to examine reality, to search for "Truth."

I hope you've found this enlightening. And I ask you, "What will you do with this new tool?"

Namaste.

¹ Interestingly, the Chinese utilized the Socratic Method to "brainwash" American prisoners during the Korean War. The Chinese would present prisoners with a question like, "What's good about the US?" They'd then ask, "What may be less than desirable about the US?" Then they might ask, "What is bad about communism?" Finally, they'd ask something like, "What's good about communism?" After several rounds of this sort of questioning, the Chinese eventually convinced the American soldiers to believe that they preferred Communism and felt that America was on the wrong side of the war. Admittedly, this is a major MISuse of this technology, since though the soldiers came to their own conclusion, they reached it through nefarious means. As always, the technology may be used for good OR evil. It's up to us to use it wisely.