I had to suffer through 3 years of law school professors attempting to use the Socratic method in their classes. Robertson and Farnsworth are doing a great service by showing the proper manner for using the Socratic method since most law professors are using the Socratic method very badly. (FYI: Farnsworth is a big deal in legal academic circles from writing the horn-book on contract law.) I even had an engineering professor attempt to use the Socratic method and this instruction would have been a great help. Being familiar with the Socratic method is a must for those seeking higher learning since the ABA requires law schools to use the Socratic Method and it is often used by judges in court, i.e. a hot bench.
Yes, the way most people, in law and therapy and medicine, etc., understand Socratic Questioning has very little to do with what Socrates meant, or really how we understand it in philosophy and classics, and in some ways is quite contrary to the best aspects of what he taught about method.
The Socratic method I saw in law school was like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy where all the resolution was gone. Since I actually got my LLM which entitles me to teach in law schools (if I can ever find work), I would actually like to use the Socratic method properly to enhance learning rather than as a way for professors to "hide the ball" just to look impressive while not actually teaching the black letter law that anyone can understand. When I lived in DC, the US Supreme Court stated in oral arguments that they actually lamented the fact that lawyers no longer learn rhetoric similar to that used in the Socratic Method. Thanks for single highhandedly keeping Western Civilization alive.
Very interesting, especially the idea that Socrates could have used a written method like this for self-improvement, almost like the modern concept of journaling. Given Socrates' connection to the "Know Thyself" phrase it makes me wonder if "knowing" one's self meant something different to an ancient audience... Today, I often see it used with concepts like finding what makes you happy, or identifying your true skills, but here it seems more to imply an analysis of whether we can accurately account for our beliefs and/or trust them to accurately reflect what we mean.
Yes, even in the ancient world we know that "Know thyself" was taken to mean somewhat different things, although perhaps they were connected. Socrates compares it to examining and judging the quality of a horse, rather than just knowing its name. Epictetus seems to link it with knowing what's up to us and what is not. Seneca, and I think Plutarch, connect it with knowing that we are mortal beings. It clearly means some sort of important insight into our own nature, and the nature of our life.
Thank you Donald. I haven't thought about the two-column method in years. And I didn't realize it was Socrates' (I'd better keep following you 😘). I'll add it back into my practice..
I had to suffer through 3 years of law school professors attempting to use the Socratic method in their classes. Robertson and Farnsworth are doing a great service by showing the proper manner for using the Socratic method since most law professors are using the Socratic method very badly. (FYI: Farnsworth is a big deal in legal academic circles from writing the horn-book on contract law.) I even had an engineering professor attempt to use the Socratic method and this instruction would have been a great help. Being familiar with the Socratic method is a must for those seeking higher learning since the ABA requires law schools to use the Socratic Method and it is often used by judges in court, i.e. a hot bench.
Yes, the way most people, in law and therapy and medicine, etc., understand Socratic Questioning has very little to do with what Socrates meant, or really how we understand it in philosophy and classics, and in some ways is quite contrary to the best aspects of what he taught about method.
The Socratic method I saw in law school was like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy where all the resolution was gone. Since I actually got my LLM which entitles me to teach in law schools (if I can ever find work), I would actually like to use the Socratic method properly to enhance learning rather than as a way for professors to "hide the ball" just to look impressive while not actually teaching the black letter law that anyone can understand. When I lived in DC, the US Supreme Court stated in oral arguments that they actually lamented the fact that lawyers no longer learn rhetoric similar to that used in the Socratic Method. Thanks for single highhandedly keeping Western Civilization alive.
Very interesting, especially the idea that Socrates could have used a written method like this for self-improvement, almost like the modern concept of journaling. Given Socrates' connection to the "Know Thyself" phrase it makes me wonder if "knowing" one's self meant something different to an ancient audience... Today, I often see it used with concepts like finding what makes you happy, or identifying your true skills, but here it seems more to imply an analysis of whether we can accurately account for our beliefs and/or trust them to accurately reflect what we mean.
Yes, even in the ancient world we know that "Know thyself" was taken to mean somewhat different things, although perhaps they were connected. Socrates compares it to examining and judging the quality of a horse, rather than just knowing its name. Epictetus seems to link it with knowing what's up to us and what is not. Seneca, and I think Plutarch, connect it with knowing that we are mortal beings. It clearly means some sort of important insight into our own nature, and the nature of our life.
Thank you for the insight, I'd never really thought on these differences but it makes complete sense, I'm intrigued to investigate further
Thank you Donald. I haven't thought about the two-column method in years. And I didn't realize it was Socrates' (I'd better keep following you 😘). I'll add it back into my practice..