How To Use the Socratic Method In Your Own Life

You don’t need to be a philosopher to improve your everyday life with Socrates

A thinking Socrates preparing his next question;

Everyone sat on pins and needles. Such was life in a law school classroom with a professor who thrived on the Socratic Method. Nobody knew who would be the next victim. Some tried to preempt being called on by volunteering to ask questions early only to be caught unprepared later.

The reason so many law school professors use the Socratic Method is that it is still, ever since the 5th century BCE and the time of Socrates himself, the best method for discovering truth and stimulating critical thinking. Although too many professors have toned down the intensity of their questioning since the infamous times of Professor Kingsfield in .

The Socratic Method is a form of cooperative dialogue based on asking and answering questions to draw out underlying ideas and truths. One of my former bosses used to love saying, “Let’s unpack that a bit”, before hitting me with a flurry of questions about some issue or perspective I shared.

That’s the Socratic Method and you don’t need to be a fancy lawyer to use it. In fact, anyone can use it in their day-to-day life. It doesn’t have to be an intense cross-examination either, but a simple, curiosity-driven…