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The methods of argument used by Socrates in the works of Plato focused on true knowledge. This method, known as the Socratic method is unconventional in that it is not a means of argument through persuasion or opinion, it is, rather, a means of argument through question and challenge. The method is a consideration of knowledge as being inherent to the human soul rather than a study of how things are. In this essay I will examine how this unique method relates and operates with the unique style of text in Socrates method of teaching by asking questions, searched for definitions. In his method of argument, he would challenge anyone with a pretense to knowledge.
Socrates argued his theories of how true knowledge is attained through joining in a discussion with another person who thought he knew what virtue or knowledge was. Under this questioning, it became clear that neither Socrates nor the other person knew the meaning of such terms. This is shown in Socrates conversation with Meno in Plato's Meno. M: I do not [know what virtue is]; but, Socrates, do you really not know what virtue is? Are we to report this to the folk S: Not only that, my friend, but also that, as I believe, I have never yet met anyone else who did know. Meno 4 Socrates then would cooperate with whomever he was talking to on a new idea where Socrates would make interrogatory suggestions that were either Then Agathon said, It turns out, Socrates, I didnt know what I It was a beautiful speech, anyway, Agathon, said Socrates.
Now take it a little further. Symposium 43 The attempts to find a solution always failed, but they could continue to For Socrates, knowledge was not merely accepting a second hand opinion, but personal achievement gained through continuous questioning and evaluation. Through Socrates questioning of himself and of others, his arguments on the attainment of true knowledge, involved not learning the answers but searching for them. The search was more successful when done by two friends, perhaps one (Socrates) being more experienced than the other, but both in love with the goal of truth, knowledge and the willingness to subject themselves honestly to the critical test of argument alone. Socrates greatest strength in his method of argument was his ability to stimulate the thinking of others to aid him in his own hypothesis of true knowledge. He opposed cross-examination in a set pattern.
This is clearly displayed in Meno, after Socrates questioned a boy with a geometrical figure. S: You realize, Meno, what point he has reached in his recollection. At first he did not know what the basic line of the eight-foot square was: even now he does not yet know, but then he thought he knew, and answered confidently as if he did know, and he did not think himself at a loss, but now he does think himself at a loss, and as he does not know, neither does he think he knows. - That is true. Meno 17 Socrates uses this statement and the testing of the boy to prove that the boy had no prior knowledge of the processes of mathematics.
He was able to answer the questions purely because he was able to use the knowledge already imbedded in his soul. This excerpt from Meno is not about mathematics. It is used by Plato to show the reader that Socrates arguments were not issue oriented, they were method oriented. This concept is very important when analyzing the theories and methods of Socrates arguments with the shape and structure of the text. Socrates vague style of argument works very well in the dialogues we have read.
This is due to the unique shape and structure of the text. The text in dialogues lacks traditional structure and warrants little or no direction and / or climax to Socrates arguments. The style of the text allows Socrates to command the dialogues and arguments but restricts him from making a persuasive or definitive point. He is never established as a clear winner.
As I have stated, Socrates method of argument is not a persuasive method. It is a method of argument through question and challenge. Thus, the similarities of the style of Socrates method of argument and the style of dialogues we have read work well together. Socrates method of argument also works well with his theory of knowledge.
Both, the vague style of argument and the unspecific theories are presented in the same manner, forming a distinct relationship. Socrates method of argument is used to deliver his theories of knowledge. He does this in a dialogue with a subject who claims that he has knowledge of some matter that is proven in a proposition that defines an ethical term. There is a series of questions from Socrates that he picks out. Then he takes a number of other propositions that, when put together, prove the difference of the original definition.
The argument is examined next to each individual to see if there is false argument. At this point the establishment of theory, or more importantly, the establishment of Socrates specific theories of the acquisition of knowledge, is not at stake. The question is not whether Socrates, through his method of argument, has proven his theories of knowledge, but rather, has Socrates disproved the subjects false conceit Socrates method of argument of is vague and indirect. It is not a means of argument though persuasion, but rather a means of argument through questioning and refute. This method works very well with the vague and indirect shape and structure of the dialogues we have read. The method also works very well with Socrates theories of knowledge.
As his theories are also very vague, and are concerned more with disproving the theories of others rather than presenting Socrates concrete theory or definition of Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Argument Through Question Thought He Knew Socrates
