"Plato's Socrates"

Paper Summary:

In the first chapter of "Plato's Socrates", Brickhouse and Smith undertake a discussion of Socrates' methodology. The paper shows how the authors examine what has become know today as the Socratic method and argue that although this method - as understood in the modern sense - is based on the practices of Socrates, the man himself would have refuted any claims that his practices indeed constitute a method.

From the Paper:

"However, there are alternatives to the title of craft: flattery, divine power, divine lot, inspiration and experience. Socrates' method could never be called flattery - it was designed to undermine and expose flaws. He did not believe that he had any special power to carry out his studies, nor did his divine monitor - the daimonion - assist him in examinations. Furthermore, Socrates insisted that anyone could initiate the elenctic method, and no particular experience was required before undertaking the routine. From all of this fact, the authors conclude that Socrates would not have believed that his questioning constituted a certain type of methodology."

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