David’s Simple Life

This is one of my articles in university. It may take you a little longer to read.

What is the best teaching method? Different people have different answers. The famous ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates’ teaching method is well-known for its efficiency and its unique style. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of teaching method? Is it the best teaching method?

About Socrates
The most interesting and influential thinker in the fifth century was Socrates, whose dedication to careful reasoning transformed the entire enterprise. Since he sought genuine knowledge rather than mere victory over an opponent, Socrates employed the same logical tricks developed by the Sophists to a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. Thus, his willingness to call everything into question and his determination to accept nothing less than an adequate account of the nature of things make him the first clear exponent of critical philosophy.

Although he was well known during his own time for his conversational skills and public teaching, Socrates wrote nothing, so we are dependent upon his students for any detailed knowledge of his methods and results. The trouble is that Plato was himself a philosopher who often injected his own theories into the dialogues he presented to the world as discussions between Socrates and other famous figures of the day. Nevertheless, it is usually assumed that at least the early dialogues of Plato provide a (fairly) accurate representation of Socrates himself.

About Socrates’ Teaching
Now that we have looked at the life of Socrates, we can turn to an examination of his particular approach in educating. What techniques did he use to facilitate learning?

Socrates’ attitude toward the divine carried over into his discussions as he often would pray for assistance in the argument or rely on his spiritual inspiration for guidance.

The main method of his teaching is conversional teaching, that is, though asking and answering, students can learn the knowledge. For the rest of his life, Socrates devoted himself to free-wheeling discussion with the aristocratic young citizens of Athens, insistently questioning their unwarranted confidence in the truth of popular opinions, even though he often offered them no clear alternative teaching. Unlike the professional Sophists of the time, Socrates pointedly declined to accept payment for his work with students, but in spite of this lofty disdain for material success, many of them were fanatically loyal to him. Their parents, however, were often displeased with his influence on their offspring, and his earlier association with opponents of the democratic regime had already made him a controversial political figure.

Our best sources of information about Socrates’ philosophical views are the early dialogues of his student Plato, who attempted there to provide a faithful picture of the methods and teachings of the master. In the Socratic dialogues, his extended conversations with students, statesmen, and friends invariably aim at understanding and achieving virtue through the careful application of a dialectical method that employs critical inquiry to undermine the plausibility of widely-held doctrines. Destroying the illusion that we already comprehend the world perfectly and honestly accepting the fact of our own ignorance, Socrates believed, are vital steps toward our acquisition of genuine knowledge, by discovering universal definitions of the key concepts governing human life.

My Opinions
Socrates’ teaching method, in a sense, is a good method. It could provoke the thinking of the students rather than just listening and reciting. In China, the cramming teaching method is generally accepted by most the schools. Students are just accepting but not inventing and creating. In this sense, Socrates teaching method is better.

On the other hand, it is also limited. In modern society, practice is more important than theory. Socrates just put the student in an environment of thinking but not practicing. If this kind of students lived in modern society, it is possibly that they could not adapt to this kind of situation. What they need is much more practice.

Nowadays, quality-oriented education is promoted; however, it is still a long way to go. Quality-oriented education is involved with practice and self-thinking. Both of these two elements are very important. We should attach equal importance to them.

Reference:
1. “Confucius And Socrates——The Teaching of Wisdom”, Sanderson Beck,May1,2005< http://www.san.beck.org/>
“Socrates: Philosophical Life”, October27, 2001. The first part, May 1, 2005.
2. “Socrates”, Richard Hooker, June6, 1999; May1, 2005
3. Literature and Culture (Book Six), Selected & Edited by Prof. Huang Xiaohong. 2005

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本文作者： David
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