Socrates today

 It begins with a question.

The Socratic method is everywhere, in the classroom, in the courtroom, in a therapist's office, in

every house. It is a staple method of learning that we use every day. Socrates never wrote anything down because he thought that doing so would make him dumber in that he wouldn't have to remember everything he's ever said (solid idea though- I can't remember the marketing campaign I thought of for another class's project that I came up with last week). His student, Plato, actually wrote down a lot of his thoughts and methods to preserve them. Socrates believed that to learn was to think critically, not just of external issues, but to also examine one's own assumptions. Truth emerges through relentless questioning, not by passive acceptance.

The Socratic Method:

1. Start with a question

2. Receive a definition (from whomever you're asking)

3. Test it with further questions

4. Expose contradictions

5. Refine the concept or restart the process

6. End in aporia (productive confusion!)

The concept of aporia is that no one really gets a solid answer to a question, and everyone included in this process is thinking deeper about a part of the discussion. It can be infuriating! And a fantastic way to encourage deeper thinking in the classroom. I am certain that when my professor reads this, he'll happily find a way to bring Socratic questioning into his analysis of this piece during class, and I will struggle to defend myself. And in the end (though I will be flustered) I will have learned something and will be thinking deeper on some new concept. No one ever said learning was easy.

This method is a way of deeper thinking; there is always something to dig into to determine truths. Now truths may be different for everyone, but the simple process of deep thinking is good brain food. It is good for us to think critically, to challenge preconceived notions. It's even good for neuroplasticity, forging new pathways in the brain when you problem solve, or try to reason out claims. You're getting brain-healthy by thinking!

In regard to books, why simply read something when you could question it? Simply intaking literature expands your vocabulary and your potential topics of conversations on a date, but what did you learn? Studying literature is to look at the roots that make up the plant, to question the foundations that uphold the plot, the characters, and the theme. Socrates taught his students to ask questions to learn, not to simply accept what has already been said. We are still students, everyone in life. When isn't there something new to learn. Asking questions is good for you. My current question is: What will a lack of Socratic questioning regarding current popular literature do to public literacy?

The Socratic method sharpens the mind and it deepens understanding and it exposes weak arguments and it strengthens sound ones. It fosters dialogue and it encourages listening and it demands clarity and it rewards honesty. It builds humanity and challenges arrogance and it unsettles assumptions and it trains resilience. It creates thinkers and it creates questioners and it creates learners and it creates people who know how to seek the truth.