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SOCRATES AS A GREAT THINKER AND A PEDAGOGUE

ABSTRACT

“I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.”

Socrates (c 470 BC – 399 BC) was a renowned Greek teacher, now recognized
as the father of Western philosophy. During his life, Socrates often disrupted the
status quo by questioning the public and creating controversy. His views on
knowledge and truth have influenced the way many people view learning.

Socrates preferred conversational teaching and didn’t leave a single record

behind. As a result, all of the “quotes” from Socrates we have today are actually
from the writings of his students (primarily Plato and Xenophon).

Eventually, Socrates was accused of failing to recognize the gods of the city and
corrupting the youth through his teachings. According to Plato’s Apology,
Socrates took a strong stand at the trial despite his awareness of the potential
consequences. He was ultimately sentenced to death and willingly drank a cup
of poisonous hemlock instead of attempting to escape with his friends.

Socrates had a lot to say about knowledge and wisdom. On the topic of self-
education, he believed that: Wisdom begins in admitting your own ignorance.
Socrates believed that knowledge was the ultimate virtue, best used to help
people improve their lives. People can arrive at truth through questioning.
Socrates urged people to care more about developing their own understanding
and knowledge which he believed would lead to both goodness and happiness.

Socrates developed a philosophy which, through his own teachings and the
teachings of his immediate followers, especially Plato and Aristotle, eventually
won the attention and respect of thinking men everywhere. The three great
Socratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, were to be "rediscovered"
during the Renaissance and their rational, practical, and scientific ideas were to
influence the thinking and the governmental, religious, and educational
institutions of the entire western world.
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES
Although Socrates wrote no books, his philosophy is known through the writing of
historians and of his students, and especially through the writings of Plato. Major
ideas in the Socratic philosophy were:

THE PROPER STUDY OF PHILOSOPHY IS MAN

Socrates was not concerned with metaphysical questions as such. He believed
that philosophy should achieve practical results in the form of greater well-being
for man the individual and for mankind as a society. Hence, the proper study of
philosophy is man. In pursuit of this study, Socrates' interests were centered in
ethics and politics.

NATURAL ETHIC
Socrates attempted to establish an ethical system based upon human reason
rather than upon theological directives.

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM

Socrates asserted that the highest good for any human being is happiness.
Whatever action a man chooses is motivated by his desire for happiness.
Knowledge, virtue, and wisdom are all the same, since man chooses an action
according to what he thinks will bring him the greatest happiness. Therefore the
more a man knows, the greater his ability to reason out the correct choice and to
choose those actions which truly bring happiness to him.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE
The highest knowledge is possessed by that individual who truly knows himself.
This knowledge constitutes ultimate wisdom. It enables man to act in a virtuous
manner at all times, because he knows what will bring him true happiness.

POLITICS
Socrates did not approve of tyranny or of democracy. He believed that the best
form of government was one ruled by an individual possessing the greatest
ability, knowledge, and virtue.
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SOCRATES’ EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue. People can arrive at truth through
questioning. Admitting Ignorance is a powerful tool to knowledge. Socrates,
however, would readily admit his own ignorance. In fact, he believed that
recognizing this lack of knowledge set him apart from other thinkers. “I know that
I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing,” he explained. By admitting
his ignorance, Socrates freed himself to question the status quo and the so-
called common sense beliefs of his fellow Athenians. “Education is the kindling of
a flame, not the filling of a vessel”.

SOCRATIC METHOD
Athens became the classroom of Socrates. He went about asking questions of
authorities and of the man in the street in order to arrive at political and ethical
truths. He questioned groups of his students as a means of instruction, to compel
them to think a problem through to a logical conclusion. His dialectic method, or
method of investigating problems through dialogue discussions, came to be
known as the Socratic Method. It involved:

SOCRATIC IRONY
Socrates pretended that he knew no answers. His assumed ignorance or
willingness to learn from others was the background for adroit questioning to
reveal the t truth or expose the error of the answers he received.

DEFINITION
The initial question usually required the definition of the concept.

ANALYSIS
Subsequent questions elicited an analysis of the definition in all its implications.

GENERALIZATIONS
After examining all of the particular applications and consequences of the
concept, Socrates reasoned, or persuaded his students to reason, from the
particular to the general, or by the process of induction, to reach a general
conclusion.
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The Socratic Method derives from the Socratic Dialogues of Plato, in which
Socrates made people jump through intellectual hoops trying to defend a "truth."
He would ask a progression of seemingly innocent questions that ultimately led
the respondent to a logical conclusion that was incompatible with that person's
originally stated belief.

THE EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SOCRATIC THOUGHT

The contributions of Socrates to education were:
TEACHING METHOD
The Socratic Method offers the following advantages to teaching act:

Problem Centered
The dialectic begins with a problem which must be analyzed, e.g. "What is your
opinion about the nature of justice or education?"

Based Upon Student Experience

The student responds on the basis of his own knowledge and experience.

Critical Thinking
The student is held responsible for his statements. The teacher analyzes some of
the possible consequences of the student's remarks. The emphasis is upon the
thinking processes of the student, who must think for himself and accept the
consequences of his logic.

Teaching Is a Drawing Forth Rather Than a Telling

In the Socratic Method the teacher does not tell the student the proper answer.
He draws from the student the probable answer.

Learning Is Discovery
The student learns when he discovers the true generalization through his
reasoning processes.
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PURPOSE OF EDUCATION
The aims of education as derived from Socratic thought are:

Self-knowledge
The educated man is wise when he knows himself. “The only good is knowledge
and the only evil is ignorance,” he said. Socrates believed that people made
immoral choices because they did not have knowledge. Unless they examined
their lives and gained wisdom, people would continue to make mistakes in
ignorance. Instead of valuing money and worldly prestige, Socrates honored
knowledge. An ancient idea, held by Socrates, is that the rightly trained mind
would turn toward virtue. This idea has actually never been abandoned, although
varying criteria of truth and authority have influenced both the content and the
techniques of education. Even when his life was on the line he stressed that
wisdom, truth and the greatest improvement of the soul should be most valued.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Individual Moral Good

The acquisition of knowledge is valuable for man because it makes him virtuous
and happy. Socrates repudiated any ornamental theory of knowledge. In similar
fashion Socrates would deplore the use of knowledge merely for material
success in life. Knowledge is ethically and morally important for all men.

Skill in Thinking
Each man must develop his skill in critically appraising propositions through the
reasoning process.

Truth through Questioning

Socrates’ greatest contribution to fellow learners is his theory of questioning, now
called the Socratic Method. To gain true knowledge, Socrates believed that an
issue must be broken into smaller questions. The answers help the thinker
recognize contradictions and distill the truth. In Xenophon’s The Economist,
Socrates discusses this method. Today, the Socratic Method is used by many
learners in more formal settings. Teachers of humanities and law often apply it to
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help students evaluate their thinking. The Scientific Method is even said to be
an ancestor of Socrates’’ style of questing. “To find yourself, think for yourself”

How Socrates Made a Difference

“Let him that would move the world, first move himself.” In the modern world,
many learners rely on Socrates’ philosophies. His style of questioning,
recognition of ignorance, and belief in the value of self-examination and self
knowledge still resonate with many independent thinkers. Steve Jobs once said
that he’d trade all his technology for an afternoon with Socrates. Many learners
would do the same. An ancient idea, held by Socrates, is that the rightly trained
mind would turn toward virtue. This idea has actually never been abandoned,
although varying criteria of truth and authority have influenced both the content
and the techniques of education. “It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”

This classical technique leads students to recognize contradictions between

values they avow and the choices they make — and show them that they have
the power to choose. Is it really possible to teach young people good character?
And, if so, what’s the best approach to take? As producers of character
education and guidance videos, we’ve pondered these questions for many years.
If You believe, as we do, that character is best expressed in the kinds of choices
that people make, then by teaching students how to make good choices, we are,
in effect, educating for character. The question then becomes, can we teach
young people to make good choices?

In this time-honored technique, the teacher asks a series of questions that lead
the students to examine the validity of an opinion or belief. This is a powerful
teaching method because it actively engages the learner and forces critical
thinking, which is just what is needed in examining ethics, values, and other
character issues. The method is also dramatic and entertaining, and it triggers
lively classroom discussion.
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STUDYING SOCRATES

Due to the fact that Socrates wrote nothing, or next to nothing, regarding his
philosophical insights and methods, we are left to glean the essence of his works
from the writings of others. We also can assume that the major philosophical
writings on Socrates, those by Plato and Xenophen, are are not as reliable.
There is an accepted way to grade the evidence when evaluating Socrates:

Grade A: Original source

Grade B: Reliable, ancient testimony

Grade C: Unreliable, ancient testimony

Grade D: Later scholarly opinion

When assuming the task of profiling Socrates utilizing these four criteria, one
must take as requirement the "Principle of Textual Fidelity" and balance it with
the "Principle of Interpretive Plausibility". With the body of work on Socrates
being replete with secondhand sources, satisfying these two principles is not
easy.

Theory of Value
What knowledge and skills are worthwhile learning? What are the goals of
education? Socrates believed that there were different kinds of knowledge,
important and trivial. He acknowledges that most of us know many "trivial" things.
He states that the craftsman possesses important knowledge, the practice of his
craft, but this is important only to himself, the craftsman. But this is not the
important knowledge that Socrates is referring to. The most important of all
knowledge is "how best to live." Through his method of powerfully questioning his
students, he seeks to guide them to discover the subject matter rather than
simply telling them what they need to know. The goals of education are to know
what you can; and, even more importantly, to know what you do not know.

Theory of Knowledge
What is knowledge? How is it different from belief? What is a mistake? A lie?
Socrates says that there are two very different sorts of knowledge. One is
ordinary knowledge. This is of very specific (and ordinary) information which
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does not give the possessor of said knowledge any expertise or wisdom worth
mentioning.

He devotes much thought to the concept of belief, through the use of logic. To
define belief, according to Socrates, was to use naturalistic explanations for
phenomena traditionally explained in terms of Divine Agency. Any person who
knows what goodness, or truth is, will live that way. The only lie or evil comes
about when one is ignorant of good. Man will never knowingly lie even if he
thinks he is. It is his ignorance of goodness and truth that prevents him from
being a wise and honest man.

Theory of Human Nature

What is a human being? How does it differ from other species? What are the
limits of human potential? The being in human is an inner-self. This inner-self is
divine, cannot die, and will dwell forever with the gods. Only human beings can
distinguish virtue, which is knowledge, from ignorance, which is the root of moral
evil. The human being is so constituted that he "can" know the good. And,
knowing it, he can follow it, for no one who truly knows the good would
deliberately choose to follow the evil. This is a typically Greek notion, and is
attractive to all rationalists. Only the human being has these capabilities.
From experience, it can be known that intellectually the human potential is
infinitesimal. The mind of man is constantly reaching out for more and more
knowledge, just as his will is desirous of more and more love. The search for
knowledge varies with the individual, but the race of man has always carried on
the quest in accordance with its nature and for the practical and speculative
value that knowledge brings with it.

Theory of Learning
What is learning? How are skills and knowledge acquired? Learning is the
seeking of truth in matters, and it occurs when after questioning and interpreting
the wisdom and knowledge of others, one comes to recognize their own
ignorance. Skills and knowledge are acquired by:
Interpreting the statements of others;
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Testing or examining the knowledge or wisdom of those reputed (by themselves
or others) to be wise;
Showing those who are not wise their ignorance;
Learning from those who are wise;
Examining oneself;
Exhorting others to philosophy;
Examining the lives of others;
Attaining moral knowledge

Theory of Transmission
Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the curriculum be?
Socrates does not believe that any one person or any one school of thought is
authoritative or has the wisdom to teach "things." Socrates repeatedly disavows
his own knowledge and his own methods. However, this appears to be a
technique for engaging others and empowering the conversator to openly
dialogue. A teacher, by asking leading questions, guides students to discovery. It
was a dialectical method that employs critical inquiry to undermine the plausibility
of widely-held doctrine.

Theory of Society
What is society? What institutions are involved in the education process? To the
class of Athenians that Socrates was born into, society existed to provide the
best life for the individual. The Athenians of Socrates' day assumed just as their
ancestors had assumed that the best life one could have, required the acquisition
of what was called virtue, or excellence. A truly good person succeeded in doing
great things for the city, strictly obeyed its law, honored parents and ancestors,
scrupulously paid homage to the gods by strictly obeying the conventions
governing prayer and sacrifice.

Athens' political system was a radical, participating democracy in which every

Athenian male citizen could-and was expected to-vote, hold office, and serve on
the very powerful Athenian juries.
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Education took place in magnificent buildings such as the Parthenon and
Hephaisteion, which adorn the Acropolis and the Agora, the large open area at
the front of the Acropolis that consisted of the Athenian market place and public
square. However, education took place wherever and whenever, and the
concepts of schooling, colleges, and institutions had not yet arrived.

Theory of Opportunity
Who is to be educated? Who is to be schooled? Socrates was the antithesis of
elitist mentality. Socrates rejected "the pursuit of knowledge" for its own sake as
a delusion and a snare. He wanted to educate, challenge, question and debate
men of ignorance mistaking themselves as knowledgeable, and by doing so, to
promote their intellectual and moral improvement. Socrates' open and non-
dogmatic style and his emphasis on what other persons thought rather than on
his own ideas led to several individual disciplines going their separate ways. The
result was several prominent schools, with the most influential being the Platonic
philosophy.

Theory of Consensus
Why do people disagree? How is consensus achieved? Whose opinion takes
precedence? Socrates' main focus throughout his public teaching life is the
acquiring by the individual of self-knowledge. He believes that goodness and
truth, positive essences and pure ethical and moral instincts are placed there
divinely in the soul. However, they are not brought to consciousness unless they
are awakened or learned. Therefore, consensus on the important things in life is
just below the surface waiting to be acknowledged. It is the destiny of mankind to
seek out virtue such as courage and self-control, or propriety over the desires of
ambitions or emotions that cloud the quest for truth. If we can recognize the
value of virtue, we then can apply it and improve the quality of our lives. It will
take precedence over personal power and the gratification of desire and
pleasure. The life-long pursuit of self-improvement, the desire for wisdom is only
attainable when one can see their own faults and weaknesses and negative
tendencies.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCRATES

As a military hero Socrates served Athens in the warfare with Sparta,

participating in the battles of Petidaea, Delium, and Amphipolis. In the course of
the battle of Petidaea he saved the life of Alcibiades, the popular Athenian
general. He worked from time to time as a stonecutter. He completed two works
of sculpture, "Hermes," the god, and "The Three Graces." Socrates devoted most
of his adult life to the development of a philosophy and to teaching those
followers who attached themselves to his dialogue discussion groups. Socrates
was distinctive for:
a. Devotion to Ethics an attitude which influenced all later Greek philosophers.

b. Development of the Inductive Method of reasoning.

c. Linking Knowledge to Happiness. He believed that knowledge, or insight, was

the foundation of virtue and happiness.
d. Rationalism. Socrates believed that man was capable of arriving at truth
through the use of reason.

Socrates, at age seventy, was brought to trial on charges that he was an atheist
and a corrupter of youth. He was found guilty and was sentenced to death. On
the order of his judges, Socrates drank poison hemlock and died. The trial and
the last days and death of Socrates are described by Plato in the dialogues
Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. Some of the famous men who studied with Socrates
were:
1. Plato, considered one of the greatest philosophers in the history of civilized
man.
2. Alcibiades, a military genius.

3. Aristippus, founder of the Cyrenaic school of hedonism.

4. Antisthenes, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy.

5. Xenophon, a military leader and historian.

6. Crito, one of the wealthiest men in Athens.

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Further Reading
Apology by Plato – A monologue based on Socrates’ trial.
The Ethics of Socrates – A basic outline of Socrates’ beliefs and philosophies.
Socrates in Wikipedia – A general overview of Socrates’ life and history.
Socrates: Philosophical Life – A detailed look at the philosopher’s experiences
and positions.

References

1. Brickhouse, Thomas C., and Nicholas D. Smith. 2000 The Philosophy of

Socrates. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press

2. Brickhouse, Thomas C., and Nicholas D. Smith. 1994 Plato's Socrates. New
York: Oxford University Press

3. Benson, Hugh C., 2000 Socratic Wisdom. New York: Oxford University Press

4. Easton, Stewart C., 1966 The Western Heritage. New York: Holt Rhinehart &
Winston, Inc.

5. Noonan, John P., 1957 General Metaphysics. Chicago, Ill. Loyola University
Press

6. www.philosophypages.com/hy/29.htm#origins

7. www.2020site.org/socrates

8. www.san.beck.org/c&s-compared.htm#6

Joy Kirt Sidhu

Nalwa College of Education, Ujha, Panipat
Mobile: 09996020762
joykirt@gmail.com, joykirt2002@yahoo.co.uk