The Socratic Method (And a Bit of Ranting)

So we've finally arrived upon the philosophical trinity. This is the moment that I've been waiting for. Mixing the tough questions with some of our literature and in doing so creating a new method of thinking in Honors. In this post, I would like to analyze the Socratic method. I've noticed that it's in use in some of my classes, especially in a Mashburn class. This proves the solidity of the method seeing how thousands of years later, it is still in usage today. The reason this method is so effective is because it sparks critical thinking in the questioned. Any one can study a text book and regurgitate information, but the Socratic method questions your core values. Who can rightly give a concrete answer on an abstract idea like Justice or Piety? Who can find that rock-solid definition of that in a textbook?  Socrates asks the tough questions to his companions and in doing so, in my opinion, his friends grow wiser from the experience. If not his friends, the readers of the dialogues grow wiser from the experience. This method tests the limits of our minds, and in all three of the readings for this week, Socrates provides a logical defense for his opinions. Even if we don't necessarily agree with what Socrates believes, we can still understand why he believes this due to his logic. I know that I did not agree with his decision in prison. He had been wrongly put into prison, so why not escape with his life and continue teaching the youth? That's what I would have done. However, I do respect that he doesn't wish to treat injustice with further injustice. That's admirable, and I understand his reasoning but I don't completely agree with it. He could have done so much more good for the Athenians if he would have escaped, but it was not my decision to make. 

That is why I like Honors as much as I do. Though we might have differing opinions, we are allowed to express them to a loving family, and although we may not come to the same conclusions, we can still respect the opinions of the others. This is because in Honors, we are encouraged to use the Socratic method. We are called and encouraged to express our ideas in a logical defense. Mashburn and Schuler, as wise as they are, are not called to be lecturers in Honors. However, they are only the midwives as to draw the wisdom out of us.  As Honors students, our duty is to first read the reading, and secondly, to express our ideas, because we have enough classes that lecture us already. The only classes I have where my voice is truly heard is in a Mashburn class, or in Honors, where the Socratic method is used. We have a voice. In Honors where he have the opportunity, we need to use it.