The Socratic Method
- Attila Kulik
- Jul 26, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 10, 2020
The Socratic method is an argumentative dialogue with the aim to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.
Our actions are rooted in our beliefs like a sequoia tree takes its root deeply in the soil. If we want to bring positive changes in our lives, it is not enough to realise that our current way of living is the result of our earlier decisions, but we must understand that our decisions stem from our beliefs. If we want to improve our lives permanently, we must change how we think and what we believe in.
The Socratic method makes us think through our views and helps us to remove the inconsistencies.
To show how it works, let’s imagine someone who does not believe in COVID-19. This belief influences her decisions and actions. Let’s say she wants to enter a shop without a face mask. The shop assistant can try to persuade her with the Socratic method.
“I don’t want to wear a mask. It is stupid. COVID-19 is fake news. It was made up by the liberal media to frighten people,“ says the middle aged woman at the entrance of the shop.
“I don’t know if you’re right or wrong,” responds the young shop assistant, “but you can be wrong in two ways. You wear a mask and it doesn't make any good for you. Or you don't wear a mask and, if the virus exists, you get it and spread it. The two mistakes have different consequences. One of them is more severe. Which decision do you want to make?”
“Come on, I’m not gonna infect anyone. This virus doesn’t exist. How could I infect anyone with a virus that doesn't exist?”
“I understand you point, but do you want to frighten others?”
“No, not at all.”
“Do you think if someone believes that the virus exists and can see you in the store without a mask, she is going to be afraid that she can catch the virus from you?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure.”
“So, you‘re saying that you don’t want to wear a mask against an imaginary virus, but only if there is no one around who thinks that the virus exists and can be frightened if you don’t wear a mask.”
“Yes, this is what I think.”
“So, will you wear a mask?”
“Sure, I will.”
I wish it was so easy to convince people in real life :), but this little example demonstrates how the Socratic dialogue works: someone has a theory, the other person asks about the details and the underlying beliefs and assumptions. The elements of the theory are seemingly in harmony. But when she goes deeper and asks questions about the consequences, she bumps into a contradiction. The purpose of the questions is to find contradictions, then to propose a new theory that is free from them.
What we can learn from Socrates is that we need a clear, consistent way of thinking to define exactly what is important for us, what drives us. We must clean our assumptions and beliefs from contradictions, so that we can be sure that our actions will not have unforeseen, unfortunate consequences, our path leads us where we want to go.
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