The Socrates Elenchus was Socrates way of questioning a proposal. His method is tested and explained in Plato’s Euthyphro and Meno. Socrates’ method is a series of steps that are meant to test or challenge a claim. The scientific method is a modern day method used to test a theory. Both Socrates’ Elenchus and the Scientific method have similarities and differences.
Socrates’ method is very alike to the scientific method however; Socrates’ method seems to be less effective than the scientific method. Socrates has a very in depth method and the answer for the initial proposed qustion must meet certain criteria.
Even though the Socratic elenchus was initially used by Socrates to question or, “elicit a statement of the nature or essence of some important virtue” (Shields, 37). Socrates’ method can still be used today, but isn’t for many reasons. Both the scientific method and the Socratic elenchus are a series of questions or steps that are used to try to find an answer.
Socrates was a man who claimed to know nothing and therefore left no pieces of writing behind. However Plato documented detailed accounts of Socrates using the Socratic elenchus in Meno and Euthyphro.
Meno claimed to teach virtue and charged a fee for his teachings. (Shields, 39). Socrates believed that in order to be able to teach what virtue, Meno therefore must know what virtue is. (Meno, Plato, 89b-e) Socrates claimed to be ignorant and professed to be in search of knowledge. Therefore since Meno claimed to have knowledge of what virtue is, Socrates saw this as a perfect scenario where he could ask his series of questions. In order for Meno to meet Socrates’ criteria and give a valid answer as to what virtue is he must meet two requirem...
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In today’s society, Socrates' way of argument, referred to as the ‘sting ray’ method, is used by...
Cairns, Huntington, and Hamilton, Edith. The Collected Dialogues of Plato. Socrates Defense (Apology).Library of Congress Catalogue, Nineteenth printing, May 2010
This claim is completely false for multiple reasons. Primarily, Socrates simply did not argue the physical over the metaphysical; he just wanted to find true knowledge. He did not have any interest in this argument at all. In Socrates opening statement to the court, Socrates identified the first charge to be false by directly confronting the philosophers who actually did this style of teaching. He stated,” I will ask you then to assume with me that my opponents are of two kinds: one more recent, the other from the past. I will answer the latter first, for these accusations you heard long before the others. In this statement Socrates was referring to the Pre-Socratics as the true perpetrators who argued the physical over the metaphysical. They even held a high social status for...
Plato’s "Apology" gives the substance of the defense made by Socrates to the Athenians at his trial. Meletus, Anytus and Lyncon brought Socrates to court on charges of corrupting the morals of the youth, leading the youth away from the principals of democracy, neglecting the Gods of the State and introducing new divinities.
Plato, . The Trial and Death of Socrates, "The Apology". Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Third ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000. 34. Print.
Judgment is very hard to use as valid reasoning. Everyone has their own judgments about everything. How does one know if what Socrates was doing was corrupting or improving the youth?... ... middle of paper ... ...
...t Socrates came up with a system. This system was called the Socratic Method, in which Socrates would ask a question, propose an idea, and then ask more questions. His ultimate goal in doing this was to prove the Oracle was wrong.
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In the eyes of René Descartes, the scientific method is a systematic approach to the acquisition, testing, and acceptance of knowledge. Through his Discourse on Method, Descartes outlines what is, in his opinion, the most reliable means of scientific inquiry. That is, using pure reason and rationale to reach undeniably valid conclusions. This is evident in the way he presents his procedure for conducting scientific endeavors. He states that one must begin with skepticism towards all of the commonly accepted scientific ‘truths’ (Descartes, Discourse Part 5, Section 41). Once these potentially invalid ideas have been expelled from the body of current scientific knowledge via rigorous, systematic doubt, new ideas that are discovered in accordance
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Plato. "Apology." Ancient Philosophy. 3rd Ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 82-100.