This tool will help improve your critical thinking - Erick Wilberding

Socrates, one of the founding fathers of Western philosophical thought, was on trial. Many Athenians believed he was a dangerous enemy of the state, accusing the philosopher of corrupting the youth and refusing to recognize their gods. However, Socrates wasn’t feared for claiming to have all the answers, but rather, for asking too many questions.

While he loathed formal lectures, the philosopher frequently engaged friends and strangers in lengthy conversations about morality and society. These discussions weren’t debates, nor would Socrates offer explicit advice. In fact, the philosopher often claimed to know nothing at all, responding to his partner's answers only with further questions. But through this process, Socrates probed their logic,

revealing its flaws and helping both parties reach a more robust understanding. These insightful questions made Socrates beloved by his followers. Two of his students, Plato and Xenophon, were so inspired that they replicated their mentor’s process in fictional dialogues. These invented exchanges provide perfect examples of what would come to be known as the Socratic Method.

In one of these fabricated dialogues, Socrates is conversing with a young man named Euthydemus, who is confident that he understands the nature of justice and injustice. Socrates probes the student’s values by asking him to label actions such as lying and theft as just or unjust. Euthydemus confidently categorizes them as injustices, but this only prompts another question:

is it just for a general to deceive or pillage a hostile army? Euthydemus revises his assertion. He claims that these actions are just when done to enemies, and unjust when done to friends. But Socrates isn’t finished. He asks the young man to consider a commander lying to his troops to boost their morale.