This conversation naturally fed into our discussion of the sixth question and how one thinks
about knowledge. In particular, we addressed the distinction between knowledge and opinion and
how this distinction informs the distinction between politics and philosophy. It also allowed us to
revisit the second question and the topic of expertise where a good portion of our time was spent
answering the questions of: 1) In what sense are philosophers and politicians experts?; and 2) What
are they experts in?
The seventh question allowed us to consider how Socrates employselenticquestioning in his
examination of Laches and for what purpose. Finally, the ninth question anticipated much of the
conversation surrounding the tenth question. We thus spent two days on the distinction between
Socrates and the sophists and were able to explore the question of why the former is connected with
philosophy and the latter with politics. Students were asked to explain why one was preferable and
whether their answer to this question depended on the type of regime one was considering.
The opportunity and ability to consider these larger questions is possible because of the DBs and
the fact that students gain a better understanding of the procedures and rules associated with the
Socratic method. Saran and Neisser identify four procedures and eight rules for interlocutors that
characterize the Socratic method and Socratic student-centered learning.^46 Consideration of these
in light of the understanding of how DBs are used in my own courses illustrates how DBs facilitate
Socratic student-centered learning.
Procedures of the Socratic Method
The first procedure of the Socratic method is that a well-formulated general question or a statement
is set by the facilitator before the discussion commences. The questions posted ahead of time for
each of the assigned readings are designed to familiarize students with the content and action of the
dialog. They are also designed to reveal areas of uncertainty or confusion that can either be
addressed in the DBs or at the beginning of class. Through the process of answering these questions
and commenting on the posts of others, common themes or questions arise that become the focus of
face-to-face interaction. Sometimes this process is easy and you can simply borrow an observation
or question found in the DBs. Other times you will need to review the discussion thread carefully
with an eye to identifying these common elements. In either case, the facilitator is responsible for
making these available to students ahead of time.
The second procedure provides that the facilitator is to collect examples experienced by par-
ticipants which are relevant to the given topic and the third rule requires the group to choose one
example. The first step in pursuit of the second level discussion questions generated by the first
procedure requires students to provide examples of appropriate topics introduced in the text and/or
the DBs. For example, in working through the definition of courage as wise endurance, students
were asked to identify examples both supporting and calling into question this understanding. Class
began with examples in support and these were listed on the board in class. From here, a single
example was selected and investigated with an eye to determining the manner and extent to which
the example supports the understanding of courage as wise endurance. After this was done,
counterexamples were asked for, listed on the board, and the same procedure was followed.
Finally, the fourth procedure provides that significant statements made by the participants are
written down so that all can have an overview of the discourse. This occurs on two levels. First,
requiring students to submit a post of their own and to comment on posts of two others creates a
great deal of information to assess, scrutinize, and respond to. While each group only has access to
their own thread, I am able to bring these threads together in the classroom. When presenting this
information in class, I make sure to identify the student(s) who raised the issue or topic addressed in
class. Second, as mentioned above, I also make use of the white board in class. Here, I not only
provide the list of examples providedby the class, but also break down arguments, definekeyterms,
etc. As a general rule, I want students engaged in the conversation and not taking notes on the
The Courage of the Socratic Method 105