The Socratic Method What follows is a brief rumination on the Socratic Method, as defined by Platos Socrates, and as it is relevant

to my teaching strategy for my Hollywood Worldviews class. Socrates mother was a midwife, and Socrates himself took on her occupation, but with a twist: he said he was a midwife of ideas. He made lengthy and repeated arguments imploring his audience to understand that he did not present any new ideas to anyone, nor did he have any students. Instead, he gave birth to ideas that already lay dormant within his dialogue partners. This view of knowledge required a full-blown doctrine of innate ideas, and even of the pre-existence of the soul in a world of forms, and reincarnation into this present earthly existence, and Recollection (capitalized to indicate just how official this idea is) of the previous existence and knowledge. In my view, Socrates view of knowledge is indefensible both for the philosopher and for the Christian. Likely, he (and more importantly, Plato, who developed his thoughts) was simply playing with possibilities and didnt believe in Recollection and all the rest. Regardless, I have a very different understanding of the origins and methods of student learning. I deny a world of Forms (unless it is within the mind of God); I deny innate knowledge that is recollected by a midwife of ideas and through discussion; I further deny the preexistence of the soul. My purpose here is obviously not to disagree gratuitously with Platos Socrates, but rather to indicate what I take from him, and how I seek to apply some of his model to my Hollywood Worldviews class. I affirm that discussion is uniquely suited to direct students into knowledge; I affirm that students (and teachers) have more knowledge (broadly defined) than they can easily grasp or have yet articulated, and that quiet moments (private and public) are necessary to structure and develop this knowledge; I affirm the value of true public thinking, both by students and teachers, and believe it is sometimes (not always) more intellectually productive than pre-articulated and outlined lessons. What Platos Socrates did brilliantly (notwithstanding all his protests to the contrary) was to begin with someones passing comment that illustrated an underlying but indefensible assumption, and then transform the discussion toward knowledge of some sort. His discussions wander, but never indefinitely, and they always get to important resolutions. Often these resolutions move from false clarity (we think we know truth, but our knowledge is false), through confusing revelation (we realize we dont know what we thought we knew), into true clarity (actual knowledge). The Socratic Method, almost by definition, requires a meandering form of public thinking. But there is a meandering meandering, and there is directed, intentional, purposeful meandering which, while giving the appearance of randomness, actually seeks a fairly specific telos. This was Socrates true form, in my judgment; he was no midwife, he was a master sculptor. In any case, that is my judgment regarding Platos intended reconstruction of Socrates, and is my judgment about what makes for true and effective Socratic discussions. And if it can be called a method, it is the method I aim at.