The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook
- Downloads：6119
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-06 06:51:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ward Farnsworth
- ISBN：1567926851
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A thinking person's guide to a better life。 Ward Farnsworth explains what the Socratic method is， how it works， and why it matters more than ever in our time。 Easy to grasp yet challenging to master， the method will change the way you think about life's big questions。 "A wonderful book。"--Rebecca Goldstein， author of Plato at the Googleplex。
About 2，500 years ago， Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation。 The way Socrates asks questions， and the reasons why， amount to a whole way of thinking。 This is the Socratic method--one of humanity's great achievements。 More than a technique， the method is an ethic of patience， inquiry， humility， and doubt。 It is an aid to better thinking， and a remedy for bad habits of mind， whether in law， politics， the classroom， or tackling life's big questions at the kitchen table。
Drawing on hundreds of quotations， this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it。 Chapters include Question and Answer， Ignorance， The Socratic Classroom， and Socrates and the Stoics。 Socratic philosophy is still startling after all these years because it is an approach to asking hard questions and chasing after them。 It is a route to wisdom and a way of thinking about wisdom。 With Farnsworth as your guide， the ideas of Socrates are easier to understand than ever and accessible to anyone。
As Farnsworth achieved with The Practicing Stoic and the Farnsworth's Classical English series， ideas of old are made new and vital again。 This book is for those coming to philosophy the way Socrates did--as the everyday activity of making sense out of life and how to live it--and for anyone who wants to know what he said about doing that better。
About 2，500 years ago， Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation。 The way Socrates asks questions， and the reasons why， amount to a whole way of thinking。 This is the Socratic method--one of humanity's great achievements。 More than a technique， the method is an ethic of patience， inquiry， humility， and doubt。 It is an aid to better thinking， and a remedy for bad habits of mind， whether in law， politics， the classroom， or tackling life's big questions at the kitchen table。
Drawing on hundreds of quotations， this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it。 Chapters include Question and Answer， Ignorance， The Socratic Classroom， and Socrates and the Stoics。 Socratic philosophy is still startling after all these years because it is an approach to asking hard questions and chasing after them。 It is a route to wisdom and a way of thinking about wisdom。 With Farnsworth as your guide， the ideas of Socrates are easier to understand than ever and accessible to anyone。
As Farnsworth achieved with The Practicing Stoic and the Farnsworth's Classical English series， ideas of old are made new and vital again。 This book is for those coming to philosophy the way Socrates did--as the everyday activity of making sense out of life and how to live it--and for anyone who wants to know what he said about doing that better。
Reviews
Maher Razouk
，
«أفلاطون لا يقول أبداً ما يعتقده。 يختبئ وراء شخصياته ويترك القارئ يتساءل。 إنه يَخلق بطلاً ، لا يقول أيضاً أي إجابات ، ولكنه يستفز الناس للتفكير بجدية أكبر وإعادة النظر في ما يؤمنون به وكيف يعيشون»وارد فرانسورث
Daniel
，
How much would you pay for a better self？ So far， Farnsworth has written one book that changed how I think about writing （Classical English Rhetoric）， one book that changed how I think about the law （The Legal Analyst）， and one book that changed how I think about hardship （The Practicing Stoic）。* Farnsworth's newest book promised to change how I think in general。 This had me excited， to say the least。 Early in the book， Farnsworth compares the Socratic Method to glasses。 Glasses help us see mo How much would you pay for a better self？ So far， Farnsworth has written one book that changed how I think about writing （Classical English Rhetoric）， one book that changed how I think about the law （The Legal Analyst）， and one book that changed how I think about hardship （The Practicing Stoic）。* Farnsworth's newest book promised to change how I think in general。 This had me excited， to say the least。 Early in the book， Farnsworth compares the Socratic Method to glasses。 Glasses help us see more clearly; the Socratic method helps us think more clearly。 I found this apt。 Two chapters near the end of the book did far and away the most to prescribe me the better glasses I'd been looking for。 These were the chapters when Farnsworth gets into the nitty gritty details of how to ask questions that move an investigation forwards （often by looking for definitions， locating fundamental principles， and bringing up counter examples）。 I've often found that the right question can do more to persuade someone than any number of arguments。 Farnsworth seems to agree。 He describes it as standing next to your interlocutor and investigating claims together rather than assuming a combative position。 Two allies looking for the answer to a hard question will generally get much further than two opponents trying to show why the other is wrong。 A main strength of the book is Socrates himself。 He is the question personified。 He keeps things interesting。 He's always up to something， whether it's questioning nobles on what the definition of courage is， getting sentenced to death， or drinking his hemlock without so much as a complaint about the taste。 He's a boon to philosophy in general and this book in particular。 Farnsworth makes the social goal of his book clear。 No one needs me to say that most public discourse seems to lack the Socratic values of respectful （if lively） questioning and searching for truth over winning arguments。 I'll admit that I'm not optimistic about society's chances of adopting these values。 However， I'm more optimistic about the readers of this book walking away with some invaluable tools for how to conduct important conversations both in the world and in their minds。 * Classical English Style and Classical English Metaphor are also a good time， but didn't have quite the same impact that his other three books did。 。。。more
Robert Chang
，