Asking like Socrates
Test a big word like 'fair' or 'success' the way Socrates did: ask for a definition, look for a case that breaks it, and fix it. Learn to question an idea without attacking the person.
THE MAN
Socrates, who wrote nothing
Socrates lived in Athens in the 5th century BCE. He wrote no books. We know him mostly through the dialogues of his student Plato, where he stops people in the street and asks them what courage, justice or piety really is. In 399 BCE Athens tried him for impiety and corrupting the young, and he was sentenced to death.
Because Plato wrote the dialogues, scholars still debate where the real Socrates ends and Plato's own ideas begin. When this course says 'Socrates', it means the Socrates of Plato's early dialogues.
The Socratic method
A way of testing an idea by questions. You ask someone to define a word they are using, then look for a counterexample: a case that fits the definition but clearly isn't the thing, or is the thing but doesn't fit. Each counterexample forces a better definition.
In Plato's Laches, a general says courage is standing your ground in battle and not running. Socrates points out that some soldiers fight bravely while retreating. So 'not running' can't be what courage is.
Check yourself
Arash tells his sister: 'A good friend is someone who always agrees with you.' She wants to test this the Socratic way. What should she say?
- 'That's a silly definition. Everyone knows real friendship is much deeper than just agreeing all the time.'
- 'Most people online would disagree with you.'
- 'Kaveh once told you not to drive tired, and you were glad. Wasn't he a good friend?'
- 'Let's look up friendship in the dictionary.'
Show the answer
'Kaveh once told you not to drive tired, and you were glad. Wasn't he a good friend?'
Yes. She gives a concrete case where someone disagreed and was clearly a good friend. That counterexample shows the definition is too narrow, and Arash has to improve it himself.
Mina: A successful person is someone who earns a lot.
Q: Is a well-paid thief successful?
Mina: No... OK: someone who earns a lot honestly.
Q: What about a nurse on a modest salary
who loves her work and is great at it?
Mina: Fine. Someone who does well at
something worth doing, honestly.
Q: Does that include earning a lot?
Mina: Not necessarily.Three rounds, two counterexamples.
Definition 1: earns a lot (too wide: includes the thief)
Definition 2: earns a lot honestly (too narrow: excludes the nurse)
Definition 3: does well at something worth doing, honestly
Mina hasn't found the final answer, but she now
knows money was never the core of what she meant.Notice the two directions. A counterexample can show a definition lets in too much, or leaves out too much.
The method in four moves
- Pick the word that matters
The one the disagreement actually hangs on: fair, lazy, respect, success.
- Ask for a definition
'What do you mean by fair here?' Get it in one sentence. Offer your own too.
- Hunt for a counterexample
A real or easy-to-imagine case that fits the definition but isn't the thing, or is the thing but doesn't fit.
- Revise and repeat
Change the definition so it survives the case. Stop when it holds up, or when you both see the question is harder than you thought.
Check yourself
Reza says: 'A fair teacher gives every student exactly the same treatment.' Which cases are counterexamples to his definition?
- Giving a student with a broken arm extra time on a written exam
- Giving everyone the same bad grade for a noisy class, including the quiet students
- Marking every exam with the same answer key
- Reading instructions aloud to a student who can't see the board
- Giving all students the same deadline for the same essay
Show the answer
Counterexample: Giving a student with a broken arm extra time on a written exam, Giving everyone the same bad grade for a noisy class, including the quiet students, Reading instructions aloud to a student who can't see the board
Not a counterexample: Marking every exam with the same answer key, Giving all students the same deadline for the same essay
THE STARTING POINT
Knowing that you don't know
In Plato's Apology, Socrates says a friend asked the oracle at Delphi whether anyone was wiser than Socrates, and the answer was no. Puzzled, he questioned people with a reputation for wisdom and found they thought they knew things they didn't. He concluded that his only edge was not pretending to know. This is often called Socratic ignorance.
In practice it means starting a conversation with 'I'm not sure what fair means here either' instead of 'Obviously fair means...'. It turns a fight into a shared search.
Check yourself
Maryam and her flatmate spend an hour asking what 'a clean kitchen' means and don't agree on a definition. By Socrates' standards, the hour was wasted.
Show the answer
False
False. They probably found out that one of them means 'no dirty dishes' and the other means 'wiped surfaces and an empty bin'. That's exactly the hidden disagreement that kept their fights going. Ending in aporia, with the confusion out in the open, is a real result.
Same questions, different purpose
Questions to win
You already know the answer. Each question is a trap. You stop the moment the other person stumbles. They leave humiliated and more stubborn.
Questions to understand
You test your own definition as hard as theirs. You offer counterexamples as puzzles. You stop when you both see more clearly. They leave thinking.
Check yourself
Sina's father says Sina is 'wasting his life' by studying music instead of engineering. Sina wants a conversation, not a fight. Which opening is most Socratic?
- 'You're just repeating what your whole generation believed about which careers are respectable.'
- 'What would a life that isn't wasted look like to you? Let's see if we agree on that first.'
- 'Plenty of engineers are unhappy, so you're wrong.'
- 'I don't want to talk about this again.'
Show the answer
'What would a life that isn't wasted look like to you? Let's see if we agree on that first.'
Right. The whole disagreement hangs on 'wasted'. Asking what it means, and offering to examine it together, is how Socrates would start. The unhappy engineers might come up later as a counterexample, but not as an opening shot.
Try it this week
- Next time an argument goes in circles, find the one word it hangs on.
- Ask 'what do you mean by that?' and really want to know. Offer your own definition too.
- Look for one counterexample to your definition before you look for one to theirs.
- If you end up unsure together, count that as progress, not defeat.
Lesson recap
- We know Socrates mainly through Plato's dialogues; he wrote nothing himself.
- The Socratic method: ask for a definition, test it with counterexamples, revise.
- A counterexample can show a definition is too wide or too narrow.
- Socratic ignorance means not pretending to know; ending unsure can still be progress.
- Use questions to understand, not to win.