i am caps

living life every day like im on a boat with a tiger

the socratic method

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“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” ~Socrates


Update: The Socratic Method was developed by ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates. He is considered a founder of Western Philosophy.

Was it my Critical Thinking class at Laney? Or was it the Positive Minds Group (PMG) Self Mastery classes? Maybe it was a Cornel West book/show I read or watched. Between the three of those events, I became engulfed with the philosophical approach called the Socratic Method, “a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas”. An approach that became a part of many facets in my life and learning.

The Socratic Method is most conventionally used between two or more persons,  I use it frequently in conversation when I sincerely want to understand my subject. Using this method in conversation, I’ve adapted its meaning to learn and understand more about myself (you have conversations and debates with yourself too lol).

There are a lot of things I grew up suppressing from the absence of having a father or mentor to to rely on for guidance to every day social experiences. As a result I’ve developed a degree of introversion (I’m an ambivert – the qualities of an extrovert & introvert) where I was left to figure things out silently on my own.  I grew up accepting life’s social conditioning although there were things that I was intrinsically against.

We question things our entire life. Much of it we keep to ourselves because it may be considered taboo or we fear ridicule no matter how valid our questions may be. It wasn’t until I was exposed to the Socratic Method that I became comfortable with questioning. That was the moment  I became comfortable with humility because I realized there was so much that I didn’t know. This humility lead me away from questioning everything based on the fear of inadequacy, but to question things and people to hopefully know its truest form, without all the layers that hide authenticity.

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” ~Socrates

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