Socratic dialogue: concept, features, application

The most beautiful teaching method was invented back in the far V century BC. e. philosopher Socrates. He believed: for a person to say a smart thing, he must be brought to this conclusion with special leading questions. Over the past millennia, the method of Socrates has not completely lost its relevance.

Definition of a method and its features

It is customary to call a Socratic dialogue a situation where truth is born in the process of communication between two subjects, none of which are sure in advance which answers are correct. But at the same time, both of them are ready to give various arguments and facts and ask certain questions in order to finally come to the right conclusions.

It is for this reason that some scholars have liked to call Socrates the first psychoanalyst. Indeed, psychoanalysts also do not seek to explain to patients what is right and what is not. They only push a person to find important things for himself. In the process of conducting the conversation, Socrates asked questions in a certain order, so that the answers of the interlocutor formed a coherent story between themselves, where one fact logically follows from another. At the same time, the interlocutor independently puts into words those ideas that were previously unknown to him, but which he came to in the process of Socratic dialogue with the help of reasoning.

Purpose of technology

What was the main thing in the learning process for Socrates himself? He believed that the main thing is to approach the right decision through inductive dialogical reasoning. It is necessary to doubt everything. As you know, Socrates said:

I know that I don’t know anything, but they don’t even know that ...

The main goal of the Socratic dialogue is not to tell, but to make your listener guess, to make an important discovery. The truth that arises in the process of conversation, in fact, already determines the conversation itself. In a hidden way, a deductive concept precedes an inductive one.

Obstetrician Wise Sayings

The main method of Socratic dialogue is commonly called mayevics. The philosopher himself defined it as the subtle art of "obstetric care." Socrates' mother, named Fenareth, was a midwife. And the philosopher often said that his work was similar to this craft. Only if a midwife helps women give birth to a child, does Socrates help men give rise to clever ideas (in those days, philosopher ladies were very rare).

This is what the philosopher writes in his Teetet dialogue regarding his method, simultaneously developing the idea that “he who is unable to do it himself teaches other people” (performed by Socrates, this idea is unlikely to be offensive to teachers - after all, the philosopher emphasizes that the ability to teach is also an important skill):

In my midwifery art, almost everything is the same as theirs - the difference, perhaps, is only that I accept from husbands, not wives, and accept the birth of the soul, not the flesh. But the great thing about our art is that we can try to find out in different ways whether a young man’s thought gives rise to a false ghost or a true and full-fledged fruit. Moreover, it turns out the same with me as with the midwives: I myself am already barren in wisdom, and for which many have condemned me - that I ask all others, but I never give any answers, because I myself don’t I don’t know wisdom, it’s true. But the reason is this: God forces me to accept, but forbids me to give birth.

Methods of Socrates

Usually Socrates used two methods in his dialogues. The first one is irony. He consisted in showing his interlocutor how ignorant he was. The philosopher specifically led the opponent to completely absurd conclusions, allowing him to follow false ideas in reasoning. Initially, it was assumed that when a person sees that he has trapped himself, he is aware of his mistakes, and this will make him smile.

The second technique - “guise” - involves the interlocutor's interest in his own thinking. This issue is dedicated to one of the most important philosophical aphorisms - “Know thyself”. This phrase was inscribed on the wall of the ancient temple of Apollo, located in Delphi. Socrates considered these words to be very important, because all his mastery of the philosopher was aimed at a special goal: to help people solve theoretical difficulties by the forces of their mind.

It should also be noted that, from the point of view of the logical construction of the dialogue, Socrates used the induction method. In other words, his reasoning is conducted from the particular to the general. This or that concept was defined in the process of Socratic dialogue through a series of questions that clarify its boundaries.

Three yes in Socratic method

This method has only recently come to be called the principle of three "yes." But he has reached our time without changing his main idea. In the process of building a Socratic dialogue with the interlocutor, it is important to follow the main rules and formulate questions so that the other person answers “yes” without a doubt. Using this method, you can prevent aggressive disputes in which people have the goal of asserting their last word, and not prove their correctness with obvious facts. In the process of verbal skirmishes, two types of communication arise - dialogue and monologue. As for the monologue, this is a simple, but completely ineffective option. And dialogue is a more perfect tool to convince the interlocutor of something. When using this method, friendly notes appear in the voice, and a person is brought to a certain idea without any pressure.

Example

Consider the example of Socratic dialogue.

“Socrates, any lie is evil!”

- Tell me, does it happen that a child is sick, but does not want to take a bitter medicine?

- Yes, of course.

- Does it happen that his parents force him to take this medicine in the form of food or drink?

- Of course it does.

- That is, such a deception will help save a child's life?

- Yes maybe.

“And this lie will not hurt anyone?”

- Of course not.

- In this case, would such a hoax be considered evil?

- No.

“So can any lie be considered an absolute evil?”

- It turns out that not all.

How to learn the method of Socratic dialogue?

To do this, you must adhere to the following rules.

• Preliminarily logically think over your speech, carefully analyze it. In order for the opponent to understand and then accept the idea, it is necessary to understand it very well. And for this it is necessary to state all your thoughts on a piece of paper. Then the main points and logical argumentation to them are distinguished. This is the only way to fully understand the topic, clearly and clearly convey it to your interlocutor.
• Then, abstracts written on paper should be reformulated into questions. These clear leading questions can lead the interlocutor to the necessary conclusion.
• Carry your interlocutor. There is a type of people who are not even inclined to engage in dialogue, not to mention listening to their opponent. Therefore, the beginning of the conversation should be thought out especially carefully.
• Try to take the initiative - you should not wait until the interlocutor begins to speak.

The main advantages of the method

The main advantages of the Socratic dialogue technology are as follows:

• A person comes to the conclusion himself, without any pressure or external coercion. And this means that he will not dispute it.
• If there is no pressure on the interlocutor, then no opposition will come from him.
• The interlocutor involved in the conversation will listen more carefully to the statements than in the case of a simple monologue.

Where is the technique applied now?

This method can be applied in various fields of human activity, in the process of analyzing all kinds of problems and searching for their initial causes. Questions allow you to explore the cause and effect relationships that underlie a particular problem.

Currently, Socratic dialogue is often used in sales. He is one of the techniques for manipulating the mind of a potential buyer, who is asked pre-cleverly planned questions. The purpose of such questions is to provoke the customer’s intention to buy a thing.

The positive goal of applying Socratic technology may be the field of training and psychological counseling. In this case, a person comes to understand certain truths that were previously inaccessible to him, but with the realization of which his life becomes brighter, more versatile.

Socratic method in psychology

Conversation is one of the main psychotherapeutic tools, and it is widely used in counseling and Socratic dialogue. The therapist carefully prepares questions for the client to teach him new behaviors. The objectives of the questions are as follows:

• To clarify the difficulties.
• Help the patient discover their wrong psychological attitudes.
• Investigate the significance of certain events for the patient.
• Evaluate the consequences of maintaining negative thoughts.

Using the technique of Socratic dialogue, the psychotherapist slowly leads his client to a specific conclusion that he has already planned in advance. This process is based on the use of logical arguments, which is the meaning of this technique. During a conversation with a client, the therapist asks questions so that the patient answers only positively. Thus, he approaches the adoption of a certain judgment, which was initially completely unacceptable to him.

Socratic dialogue: an example in counseling

Consider a dialogue between a psychotherapist and a client. The patient is 28 years old, he works as a programmer in one of the large companies. He got into it recently, but during the whole time of his work he did not leave thoughts of dismissal. Although he likes his work, conflicts with colleagues do not stop. He brought one of the employees to tears, trying to belittle her mental abilities regarding the use of a computer. Consider the conversation of this client with the therapist as an example of Socratic dialogue in psychotherapy.

Therapist: Are you trying to prove to other employees that you are right in order to make your work more effective?

Patient: Yes.

T .: Do other employees say that they were initially used to working in a completely different way?

P .: Exactly.

T .: This situation is similar to the saying that they don’t go to someone else’s monastery with their charter

P .: Approximately so.

T .: I recall how I had to come to visit my relatives from the capital outside the city, and that is a striking difference in customs, communication between the inhabitants of a large city and village. And this despite the fact that the town is only 120 km from the metropolis.

P .: What can I say, as a child I was sent to a town 10 km from the capital, where people opened the door to the entrance only with a kick. Then we did not like the inhabitants of big cities ... Wait a minute, so what is it for my colleagues that I look like a city dweller who came to stay in the province?

The use of this method is useful both for psychologists and educators, and for people far from these areas. Using the method of Socratic dialogue, you can lead the interlocutor to a certain conclusion, persuade him to accept his point of view.