Just a quick post this month, since I'm strapped for time. This YouTube Channel, Secret Scholar Society, has been on my radar recently. And for good reason - it's run by a professor who went viral with his use of the Socratic Method for evaluating controversial student claims.
Here, professor Warren Smith, talks about why the Socratic Method is so powerful for debating, especially the method's employment of asking questions, rather than directly attacking a person's claims. I suggest checking out the video, but in a nutshell, here is why asking questions works so well to get to the truth:
Here, professor Warren Smith, talks about why the Socratic Method is so powerful for debating, especially the method's employment of asking questions, rather than directly attacking a person's claims. I suggest checking out the video, but in a nutshell, here is why asking questions works so well to get to the truth:
- It removes the person's ego from the equation. If you ask a question, rather than directly attack their claim, the other person is engaging with the question rather than with you and your perceived attack on their ego.
- When questioned, people give the answer in their own words, which helps us better define what exactly they mean and what we are talking about.
- It allows you to debate someone without them realizing they are debating, while still offering the possibility that they might be right.
- The purpose of asking questions is establishing that the issue at hand is either 1) more complicated than they assumed, or 2) arriving at the more objective truth.
