Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1877 — The Socratic Method. [ARTICLE]

The Socratic Method.

As every one knows, who knows anything of the tricks and manners of Socrates, that remarkable philosopher never conversed except by asking questions. If he wanted to express the opinion that Xantippe had put too much lard in the pie-crust, he would begin by propounding to her a series of seemingly irrelevant questions, witu the view of ultimately leading her into an inadvertent admission of the evils of excessive lard. His famous conversation with Alcibiades, in the course of which he convinced the latter of the non-existence of his dog, furnishes a fair example of what we have come to call the Socratic method; and, as the dialogue has never been translated into English, a brief extract from it will not be out of place here. S.—“ They tell me, Oh, Alcibiades, that you have cut off your dog's tail.” A. —“It is true, Oh, Socrates; I did it with my little battle-ax.” S. —“ What is a dog ? Is it not an anmal with four legs and a tail?” A.—“ You say truly.” S.—“ Then your dog is not a dog, for it is an animal with four legs, yet without a tail.” A.—“ I sec that I must admit it.” S.—“ But will also admit that neither among Greeks, nor yet among barbarians, is there an animal which, having four legs, has no tail.” A. —“ Again thou sayest what nobody denies of.” S.—“ How then can you claim that you have the very animal which does not exist?” A. —“ By Zeus, I make no such claim.” B.—“ Then you see you have ner <s&■*.” It was by this method of cross-ques-tioning that Socrates achieved a tremendous reputation. It is to be regretted that in his later years he did not adhere to his early custom of always having three or four persons about him whose business it was to admit everything. Unfortunately, he fell into the habit of asking everybody questions, in consequence of whifeh his long-suffering fel-low-citizens had to kill him.— New York Times.