The Socratic Method

Who was Socrates?
Greek Philosopher

Early Life

• Born in Athens in 4700-399 BC
• Not from a noble family--son of a stone mason and a midwife
• He was educated
• He fought in the Peloponnesian War
• He married and had three sons
• He became a teacher

Philosopher

• After the war, the government of Greece crumbled
• During this time, Socrates became a Sophist
• Sophists didn't believe in the Greek gods
• Socrates taught his pupils to pursue wisdom--Plato was his student
• He never wrote anything down

Death of Socrates

Death of Socrates

• Government accused Socrates of corrupting the youth with his teachings
• He was found guilty
• He was sentenced to death by drinking a mixture of poison hemlock

The Socratic Method

• Socrates never claimed to have wisdom--he didn't lecture
• He believed the pursuit of knowledge and reason brought happiness
• He used questions to push deeper thinking

Question Types

• Clarifying Questions
• Real-world Questions
• Sub-textual Questions

Clarifying Questions

• Can you please repeat that?
• Can you say that again?

Real-world Questions

• Can you define that word?
• What percentage of ...?
• How many...?

Sub-Textual Questions

• Has different answers--open-ended
• Analyze how
• Explain why
• Compare
• Contrast
• Predict
• Infer how
• Evaluate