Socrates' Tool: The Socratic Method

Every day, challenge yourself or a friend with the Socratic method: look at an affirmation and summarize your argument or the argument of your interlocutor: "it is better to buy a house than to rent", "people are selfish by nature" , "Instead of spending your money, you should give it to people who don't have it" ... Remember that we harbor many ideas that we think are common sense and that we have never questioned!

  • Find the evidence you rely on to affirm what you affirm: why do you believe this? What makes you believe this?
  • Ideas are like bricks: some rest on others. Socrates wants you to examine them patiently to find out which ones are really solid. If an idea has no proof, then it is just an assumption. If it is not objective, discard it.
  • Find an exception to the argument, that is, circumstances in which the argument of your interlocutor does not work.
  • Ask your interlocutor to restate his argument, taking into account the exceptions. Keep asking questions to better understand exceptions, until you can no longer reject the argument.

Congratulations! You already have a stronger idea!