Socrates and Plato 469399 BCE 427327 BCE Socrates Bricklayer by trade served in the army Labeled the wisest man in Athens by oracle at Delphi Set out to prove the oracle wrong Questioned the sophists who held that success was ability to gain hold of wealth fame and power ID: 484116
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Slide1
Socratic Method and ReasoningSlide2
Socrates and Plato
469-399 BCE
427-327 BCESlide3
Socrates
Bricklayer by trade, served in the army
Labeled “the wisest man in Athens” by oracle at Delphi
Set out to prove the oracle wrong
Questioned the sophists who held that success was ability to gain hold of wealth, fame and powerSocrates believed moral goodness to be paramount and in order to do this one had to re-evaluate his own moral valuesSlide4
Trial
Charged with crimes of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens.
Convicted and given the choice between exile and death. Chose death by hemlockSlide5
Socrates
’
Approach to Philosophy
Socrates did not write anything
.He pursued values in conversation with others – Goodness, Justice, Truth, Self-Knowledge
He criticized the self-satisfied Sophists because they claimed to possess the final answers to all questions – wealth, fame, powerSlide6
Socrates - His Main Ideas I
Our interior life – our
“
psyche
” or “soul” – is the most important part of life
Our psyche is “healthy” when it seeks goodness, truth, justice, and self-knowledgeA soul in search of wealth, fame, and power becomes weak, sickly, ignorantSlide7
Socrates – His Main Ideas II
Being ignorant is to mistake the appearance of good for the reality of it
All evil is caused by ignorance
People who cheat, lie, steal, harm others are always motivated to do so by their own ignorance concerning what is good
They don
’t know what is important in life, so they seek wealth, fame, power, and in doing so they find they must cheat, lie, steal, and harm othersSlide8
Socrates – His Main Ideas III
“
THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
”
If we spend our lives examining and criticizing ourselves, our psyches become strongIn seeking goodness, justice, truth and self-knowledge, we will not become self-satisfied, bigoted, and ignorant
We may not find what we seek, but the life we live will be one that strengthens our inner selvesSlide9
The unexamined life is not worth living
Socratic method: technique of probing questions developed fro the purposes of prodding, pushing and provoking unreflective persons into a realizing their own lack of understanding
Socratic Irony: Socrates pretends to be ignorant of what the other person is saying. He asks more questions as if interested in learning more. The questions become more difficult exposing the weaknesses of the second person’s ideas.Slide10
Apology
apologia
– justification or defense
Written by Plato
Details trial of Socrates in 399 B.C.E.Slide11
The method
Ask a question that seems innocent and straightforward (i.e. What is love? What is courage?)
The person offers a common sense definition
Offer a counterexample that does not fit the definition to illustrate that the definition is incomplete, biased or uninformed.
Continue the process until a suitable definition is constructed or the parties agree that the subject is more complex than originally thought.
An effective way to respond to a person who claims to be right without being able to explain why.Slide12
Euthyphro (an excerpt)
Socrates: I was not asking you to give me
exmples
of holiness,
Euthyphro, but to identify the characteristic which makes all holy things holy. There must be some characteristic that all holy things have in common, and one which makes unholy things unholy. Tell me what this characteristic itself is, so that I can tell which actions are holy and which are unholy.
Euthyphro: Well, then holiness is what is loved by the gods and what is not loved by them is unholySlide13
Socrates: Very good
Euthyphro
! Now you have given me the sort of answer I wanted. Let us examine it. A thing or a person that is loved by the gods is holy, and a thing or a person that the gods hate is unholy. And the holy is the opposite of the unholy. Does that summarize what you said?
Euthyphro
: It does.
Socrates: But you admit, Euthyphro, that the gods have disagreements. So some things are hated by some gods and loved by other gods.Euthyphro: True.Socrates: Then upon your view the same things
Euthyphro
will be both unholy and holy
Euthyphro
: Well I suppose so.
Socrates: Then, my friend, you have not really answered my question. I did not ask you to tell me which actions were both holy and unholy; yet this is the outcome of your viewSlide14
Characteristics of the Socratic method
The method is skeptical
It is conversational
It is conceptual or definitional
It is empirical or inductive
The method is deductiveSlide15
Socratic circle in the classroom
Ask questions! The dialogue opens with a question. Participants are encouraged interchange ideas and seek clarification sometimes using argument in order to reach an agreement
Teacher plays role as facilitator to help clarify positions or questions
Is not meant to be a debate. Should raise questions to reveal common assumptions and create collective thinking and inquiry. This is a collaborative exercise.Slide16
The Rules of a Socratic circle
Listen carefully
Speak clearly -
one person at a time
Participate openlyValue others opinions, but refer to text when defending your position
Avoid side conversationsGive others your respect - accept answers without
judgment
Respond
to the opening question
Examine the text
to support your answer
“I agree with… but would like
to add
…”
“I disagree with…because…”
“I am confused by…”Slide17
Assignment
Create a Socratic dialogue (min 2 pages)
Due date Oct 16