Comments on: The Really Traditional Socratic Method http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/ Commentary on law, public policy, and more Tue, 08 May 2012 01:46:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The Really Traditional Socratic Method : clusterflock http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693741 The Really Traditional Socratic Method : clusterflock Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:41:16 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693741 [...] Hilarious. [...] [...] Hilarious. [...]

]]> By: The Really Traditional Socratic Method : clusterflock http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693742 The Really Traditional Socratic Method : clusterflock Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:41:16 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693742 [...] Hilarious. [...] [...] Hilarious. [...]

]]> By: mtelleen http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693652 mtelleen Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:11:18 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693652 Socrates would be thrilled that a post in his name is being tweeted. We may not know much about the real Socrates, but I think we can all agree he LOVED Twitter. Socrates would be thrilled that a post in his name is being tweeted. We may not know much about the real Socrates, but I think we can all agree he LOVED Twitter.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693460 uberVU - social comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:16:50 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693460 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by PeterBlackQUT: eugene volokh: "the really traditional socratic method: you ask people hard questions. then they kill you" http://j.mp/50WPkj... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by PeterBlackQUT: eugene volokh: “the really traditional socratic method: you ask people hard questions. then they kill you” http://j.mp/50WPkj...

]]> By: corneille1640 http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693324 corneille1640 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:33:37 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693324 Thales, Point well taken, but I do get peeved when people say "Socrates said this" or "Socrates believed that" when in fact, it was (probably) Plato using Socrates as a character to explain his own views. Nothing wrong with Plato doing that, but it is Plato. Also, as I understand it, the charges used against Socrates were pretexts for his really problematic behavior in Athens after (during?) the Pelopponesian (sp.?) War. Of course, the charges are not the less repugnant for being pretexts. Thales,

Point well taken, but I do get peeved when people say “Socrates said this” or “Socrates believed that” when in fact, it was (probably) Plato using Socrates as a character to explain his own views. Nothing wrong with Plato doing that, but it is Plato.

Also, as I understand it, the charges used against Socrates were pretexts for his really problematic behavior in Athens after (during?) the Pelopponesian (sp.?) War. Of course, the charges are not the less repugnant for being pretexts.

]]> By: Logos kai Apokalupsis » The Traditional Socratic Method http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693205 Logos kai Apokalupsis » The Traditional Socratic Method Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:28:47 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693205 [...] From the Volokhs:  “You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you.” [...] [...] From the Volokhs:  “You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you.” [...]

]]> By: WisdomOfTheAges http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693149 WisdomOfTheAges Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:32:06 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693149 Someone should have counseled Socrates that you can't win your case in oral argument, but you can lose it.... Someone should have counseled Socrates that you can’t win your case in oral argument, but you can lose it….

]]> By: Tweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » The Really Traditional Socratic Method -- Topsy.com http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-693098 Tweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » The Really Traditional Socratic Method -- Topsy.com Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:08:06 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-693098 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Peter Black, David Trahan. David Trahan said: HA! "The Really Traditional Socratic Method--You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you." (cf. http://is.gd/523dI) [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Peter Black, David Trahan. David Trahan said: HA! "The Really Traditional Socratic Method–You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you." (cf. http://is.gd/523dI) [...]

]]> By: ChrisTS http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692999 ChrisTS Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:54:59 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692999 <blockquote cite="comment-692644"> <strong><a href="#comment-692644" rel="nofollow">EvilDave</a></strong>: Technically he killed himself. He always had the option of banishment. </blockquote> What, and move to Thessaly? Hemlock was clearly preferable.

EvilDave: Technically he killed himself. He always had the option of banishment.

What, and move to Thessaly? Hemlock was clearly preferable.

]]> By: Thales http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692919 Thales Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:45:28 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692919 "corneille1640" Perhaps, but a) the execution of Socrates for charges that we would view as unacceptable in a liberal society (and the dark side of a purely democratic one) is a well-documented real event, no more in doubt than the assasination of Julius Caesar and b) in terms of his legacy and philosophy, why does it matter whether "Socrates" the Platonic dialogist was actually representative of Socrates the person, in the same way that it doesn't matter whether a person actually named Shakespeare wrote the plays of Shakespeare? "EvilDave": and it is telling about the centrality of a meaningful life within a society in his thought that he chose forced suicide rather than banishment. “corneille1640″ Perhaps, but a) the execution of Socrates for charges that we would view as unacceptable in a liberal society (and the dark side of a purely democratic one) is a well-documented real event, no more in doubt than the assasination of Julius Caesar and b) in terms of his legacy and philosophy, why does it matter whether “Socrates” the Platonic dialogist was actually representative of Socrates the person, in the same way that it doesn’t matter whether a person actually named Shakespeare wrote the plays of Shakespeare?

“EvilDave”: and it is telling about the centrality of a meaningful life within a society in his thought that he chose forced suicide rather than banishment.

]]> By: Chris Newman http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692852 Chris Newman Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:35:51 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692852 I think the main reason Socratic Method doesn't seem to work as well in law school as in Plato's dialogues is that Plato got to draft the answers Socrates got as well as the questions. I think the main reason Socratic Method doesn’t seem to work as well in law school as in Plato’s dialogues is that Plato got to draft the answers Socrates got as well as the questions.

]]> By: greg http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692795 greg Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:58:55 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692795 <blockquote>You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you.</blockquote> The people or the questions?

You ask people hard questions. Then they kill you.

The people or the questions?

]]> By: D.O. http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692762 D.O. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:05:55 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692762 How many law profs conduct classes by repeating "I know that I know nothing"? How many law profs conduct classes by repeating “I know that I know nothing”?

]]> By: EvilDave http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692644 EvilDave Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:39:00 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692644 Technically he killed himself. He always had the option of banishment. Technically he killed himself. He always had the option of banishment.

]]> By: ChrisTS http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692587 ChrisTS Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:00:23 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692587 <blockquote cite="comment-692429"> <strong><a href="#comment-692429" rel="nofollow">yankee</a></strong>: I don’t think this is right at all. What you do is state the answer in the form of a question, and then your student says “Yes, Socrates.” </blockquote> Or, "Please, Socrates, can you explain this further?"

yankee: I don’t think this is right at all. What you do is state the answer in the form of a question, and then your student says “Yes, Socrates.”

Or, “Please, Socrates, can you explain this further?”

]]> By: Tom from RI http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692502 Tom from RI Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:19:42 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692502 I had Jim McElhaney for Evidence in law school. He would do oral, snap quizzes. He asked one student: "A woman's mental competence is at issue. Is her out-of-court statement: 'I am the Pope' admissible?" The student respond, "yes." "Right, now why?" The student paused and then said: "Because it's an admission?" This slayed Prof. McElhaney in the proverbial sense. I had Jim McElhaney for Evidence in law school. He would do oral, snap quizzes. He asked one student: “A woman’s mental competence is at issue. Is her out-of-court statement: ‘I am the Pope’ admissible?” The student respond, “yes.” “Right, now why?” The student paused and then said: “Because it’s an admission?”

This slayed Prof. McElhaney in the proverbial sense.

]]> By: readery http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692484 readery Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:43:55 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692484 Socrates taught that the spoken word was supreme -- that human interaction, not the written record thereof, is what is truly real. He refused to write down his own dialogues. Naturally we moderns wouldn't think he would exist! Socrates taught that the spoken word was supreme — that human interaction, not the written record thereof, is what is truly real. He refused to write down his own dialogues.

Naturally we moderns wouldn’t think he would exist!

]]> By: readery http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692483 readery Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:41:07 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692483 The pharmacy, that is, not the law school. The pharmacy, that is, not the law school.

]]> By: corneille1640 http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692481 corneille1640 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:39:51 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692481 I'm not sure that Socrates actually existed, at least not in the way that Plato and a handful of others depicted him. He (Socrates) seems just a literary character, an ancient and more sophisticated version of Slats Grubnik. I’m not sure that Socrates actually existed, at least not in the way that Plato and a handful of others depicted him. He (Socrates) seems just a literary character, an ancient and more sophisticated version of Slats Grubnik.

]]> By: readery http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692480 readery Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:39:26 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692480 The only difference between that and what's done in Oregon is that they don't really ask any hard questions. The only difference between that and what’s done in Oregon is that they don’t really ask any hard questions.

]]> By: Tom Ault http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692460 Tom Ault Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:50:12 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692460 No, no, no. Law school is where they teach you how to become a high-priced prostitute. It takes several years of practice to actually turn you into one. No, no, no. Law school is where they teach you how to become a high-priced prostitute. It takes several years of practice to actually turn you into one.

]]> By: DjDiverDan http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692438 DjDiverDan Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:04:17 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692438 <blockquote cite="comment-692433"> <strong><a href="#comment-692433" rel="nofollow">Mike McDougal</a></strong>: Which law school is that? </blockquote> With high priced prostitutes? All of them.

Mike McDougal: Which law school is that?

With high priced prostitutes? All of them.

]]> By: Mike McDougal http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692433 Mike McDougal Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:00:28 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692433 <blockquote cite="comment-692430"> <strong><a href="#comment-692430" rel="nofollow">Thales</a></strong>: and many hetairai (really high class literary and musical prostitutes) present. </blockquote> Which law school is that?

Thales: and many hetairai (really high class literary and musical prostitutes) present.

Which law school is that?

]]> By: Thales http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692430 Thales Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:47:44 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692430 Also, the questioning is done in a symposium with lots of super strong wine with pulpy grape lees drunk out of large handled bowls, and many hetairai (really high class literary and musical prostitutes) present. So at least you have fun before you get killed. Also, the questioning is done in a symposium with lots of super strong wine with pulpy grape lees drunk out of large handled bowls, and many hetairai (really high class literary and musical prostitutes) present. So at least you have fun before you get killed.

]]> By: yankee http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692429 yankee Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:40:32 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692429 I don't think this is right at all. What you do is state the answer in the form of a question, and then your student says "Yes, Socrates." I don’t think this is right at all. What you do is state the answer in the form of a question, and then your student says “Yes, Socrates.”

]]> By: Nate http://volokh.com/2009/11/22/the-really-traditional-socratic-method/comment-page-1/#comment-692424 Nate Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:29:56 +0000 http://volokh.com/?p=21955#comment-692424 Nyuck nyuck nyuck. Nyuck nyuck nyuck.

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