I am a big fan of Socrates. All that we try to do here branches from Socrates great gift to the world, the Socratic method. What Socrates would do is sit down with another person and question them, much like a curious child questions their parent, attempting to find a flaw in their logic. Socrates did this not to make people look foolish but to make them understand where their knowledge was lacking. From this point on, he hoped that they would seek more knowledge to fill the gaps in their argument. It’s amazing that a simple method of questioning would stay so relevant for over two-thousand years.
The world we live in now is a lot more complicated than the one that Socrates was born into. In this day and age there is information everywhere. With quick access to the internet and widespread levels of education, more people are producing and consuming information every single day. It would seem that with all of this information floating around the Socratic method would be more popular than ever in order to try to find the most accurate information possible, but it’s not.
It is very important to note that the Socratic method does not work if there is malicious intent in the questioning. Once the malicious intent arrives both the questioner and the questioned become compromised, they are no longer seeking knowledge and improving logic, but instead are in a contest. Today I see remnants of the Socratic method on the news, in classrooms, and all over social media, however in these places the method has been perverted. We are no longer trying to point out flaws in logic for the purpose of self-improvement, but are instead doing so to win a battle of wits.
The Socratic method is not perfect, not because it is in itself imperfect, but that its subjects are, people are part of this equation, and where there are people there are problems. Being wrong is an awful feeling, especially when your false beliefs are exposed among peers. This awful feeling leads to resentment towards questioning, and a fear of being proven wrong. After all, it was this questioning of others that led Socrates to his execution. It is in this fear that it becomes very tempting to use the Socratic method as a tool to make others feel terribly about their own intellect. We must avoid doing this at all costs. I’m no saint, I have done the same thing, I’ve been in a heated argument and questioned ad nauseam just to try to break down the other person’s argument. This should not be why we argue.
So what I am saying here is let’s all be Socrates, let’s question and discuss for the sake of knowledge and not malintent. When speaking to someone with opposite views, let their argument fall on open ears, and then question, if they are truly wrong then they will fail this line of questioning. If one questions enough any argument will fall apart, even the most well thought out ones because our knowledge on any subject comes with a limit. So, when we question we must be responsible, when the argument falls apart do not gloat or attack, show respect by explaining what you are doing and hope that they will seek the knowledge that they are lacking. Hell, do this with people you agree with as well because we all lack some knowledge and if nobody points it out we will never know what we don’t know. So let us make that our goal, to know what we don’t know. Let us reach out to one another and show, respectfully, how foolish each of us are. It is only then that we can begin to find truth in a very confusing world.