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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Works Citied
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Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own but rather aimed at bringing out the worst in his interlocutors.
Plato often had Socrates use Elenchus,a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on having those he discussed with present their ideas first and then had them themself discuss the holes and inconsistencies within their own answer. Plato often presented Socrates as believing that “the unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates, 399 BC) meaning that questioning everything is good for both the individual and a community. Thus highlighting one of the differences between Socrates and the Sophists; while both are concerned with the "human and social kind of excellence," the Sophists focused on teaching it, and Socrates only with asking about it. Thus showing that, Plato 's Socrates is not presented as a Sophist, perhaps because Plato himself does not agree with the Sophist method and so would not associate his teacher as such (Euripides, 480- 406
Plato, . The Trial and Death of Socrates, "The Apology". Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Third ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000. 34. Print.
The Meno is another story written by Plato in which Socrates uses his method of inquiry on the youth of Athens. The story illustrates how successful the Socratic method is in terms of helping the city of Athens by creating a more educated and ethical community. The story’s dialogue begins with Meno asking Socrates if virtue can be taught, and Socrates responds by saying “I myself, Meno, am as poor as my fellow citizens in this matter, and I blame myself for my complete ignorance about virtue” implying that he does not know the true definition of virtue, nor does anyone else, making it impossible to teach. Meno claims that virtue is different for different people based on things such as sex or age, and Socrates rejects this idea. Meno then proposes that virtue is the desire for good ...
Plato. "Apology." Ancient Philosophy. 3rd Ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 82-100.
Socrates was wise men, who question everything, he was found to be the wise man in Athens by the oracle. Although he was consider of being the wises man alive in those days, Socrates never consider himself wise, therefore he question everything in order to learned more. Socrates lived a poor life, he used to go to the markets and preach in Athens he never harm anyone, or disobey any of the laws in Athens, yet he was found guilty of all charges and sentence to die.
Plato. "Apology." Ancient Philosophy. 3rd Ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 82-100.
...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.
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
The act of the mind of Judgment is can be very controversial. The main points under review with this act are was Socrates a corrupter or an improver? And was Socrates an atheist. In my opinion Socrates does a good job of using judgment to rebut his charges. Judgment is very hard to use as valid reasoning. Everyone has there own judgments about everything. How does one know i...
Plato. "The Apology of Socrates." West, Thomas G. and West, Grace Starry, eds. Plato and Aristophanes: Four Texts on Socrates. Itacha, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997
Plato. “The Apology.” Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Cito, Meno, Phaedo. 2nd ed. Trans. Grube, G.M.A. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 2002. 36.
Plato. "Apology." The Longman Anthology of World Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and David L. Pike. Compact ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. 559-75. Print.
Philosophy is “The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. Socrates is known as one of the greatest philosophers to ever have lived because he studied knowledge, reality, and existence to the point where he constructed a famous method used to find the answer to any problem, no matter the subject. This famous method is one of his greatest works and is known as the Socratic Method. This method involves breaking a problem into a series of questions, consequently the solution is usually found by answering all of the sub questions. He then used this method to examine moral ideas like justice, and began to question Athenian politics. This method later led to create hypothesis and the Scientific Method, which are widely used in modern scienc...
One of the most revolutionary ideas that Aristotle brought to the study of the mind, he also brought to many other studies. Ancient philosophers such as Plato relied heavily on intuition and pure speculation on topics ranging from physics to the study of human behavior. Aristotle though, taught the beginnings of the scientific method, that is learning based on examination, experimentation, and logic.