Socratic questioning
Guided inquiry method
Socratic questioning is a method of inquiry that probes assumptions and reasoning through a series of pointed questions rather than direct instruction.
Named for the Greek philosopher Socrates, the technique leads people to examine their own beliefs by asking them to define terms, justify claims, and consider implications: Instead of telling him he was wrong, she used Socratic questioning to help him see the contradiction himself.
The approach is central to law school pedagogy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- know thyselfImperative for introspection
- examined lifeLife of deliberate introspection
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- thought experimentHypothetical scenario for reasoning
dialogue · critical thinking · gadfly · devil's advocate · dialectic · ethical reasoning · epistemology · debate · pedagogy · Plato · metacognition · intellectual humility · interlocutor · leading questions · active learning · problem-solving · analysis · assumptions
- PlatoPlato, academy, Academy, allegory, the Republic
- therapy techniquesCBT, play therapy, art therapy, exposure therapy, group therapy
- self-reflectionjournaling, self-reflection, self-awareness, introspection, self-examination
Socratic questioninglecturing
Giving an instructive talk
spoon-feeding · catechism · indoctrination · passive learning · rote learning
Socratic questioningdogmatism
Unyielding adherence to doctrine
proclamation · pronouncement · received wisdom · assertion · dictum
Socratic questioningmonologue
Uninterrupted solo address
preaching · sermonizing · hectoring · pontificating · diatribe