The Socratic Method: Questioning as Philosophy

Socrates' main tool was the elenchus, a method of cross-examination. He would ask someone to define a concept they claimed to understand, such as courage or justice, then ask further questions that revealed contradictions in their answers. In Plato's Laches, for example, a general defines courage as standing firm in battle, and Socrates shows this definition fails to cover cases such as a strategic retreat. Most early dialogues end in aporia, a state of puzzlement, with no final definition.

This might seem unsatisfying, but Socrates believed that exposing false confidence was the first step to real understanding. He described himself as a midwife who helps others give birth to ideas rather than handing them answers. Critics then and now note that public refutation could humiliate people and make enemies, which helps explain his unpopularity. Yet the method became a model for teaching through questions.