The Socratic Method – What It Is, With Examples

This article looks at the Socratic Method (sometimes referred to as the method of Elenchus, the elenctic method, Socratic debate, or Street Epistemology), including who Socrates was, how the method named after him works, and examples of it in use.

Who Was Socrates? (3:15)

This short animation, by 8-Bit Philosophy, discusses who Socrates was.

What is the Elenchus? (5:29)

This short video. from Carneades.org, gives a brief description of what the Socratic Method is.

How To Persuade Anyone (3:08)

This video presents a slightly different aspect of the Elenchus.

How To Use Socratic Dialogue (11:17)

This video uses excerpts from the movie Pulp Fiction to demonstrate Socratic dialogue in action.

How To Win An Argument Without Making Enemies (12:53)

This video illustrates the points it makes via references to how Trevor Noah handles interviews on his show.

Socratic Method (5:22)

In this video, Beau Baez discusses how the Socratic Method can be used in a teaching environment.

Socratic Method (12:31)

Paul Stearns explains what the Socratic Method is, how it’s used, and provides both worked examples and exercises to help you develop your skills.

Socrates On Self-Confidence – Pottery Analogy (24:12)

This short documentary, featuring Alain de Botton, is the one mentioned by Paul Stearns near the end of the previous video.

Street Epistemology: Maritza (27:53)

In this video, Anthony Magnabosco takes the Socratic Method out on the street and has a very interesting discussion with a student called Maritza about the importance the truth.

Conclusion

As I hope you’ve seen, the Socratic Method is a powerful way to get somebody to question their beliefs for themselves, without escalating discussions into arguments.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Humble Inquiry
2. Plato’s Five Dialogues
3. Socratic Logic