11 See Philip Bellet al. Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits(Wash-
ington: National Academic Press, 2009), 1–18.
12 Mark Blitz,Plato’s Political Philosophy(Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), 34.
13 Kenneth Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery: A Study in Socratic Method(Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1987), 1.
14 Ibid., 3.
15 Leonard Nelson,Socratic Method and Critical Philosophy(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1949), 17.
16 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 135.
17 Blitz,Plato’s Political Philosophy, 35.
18 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 135.
19 Plato,Meno, trans. George Anastapolo and Lawrence Burns (Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 2007); Plato,
Phaedo, trans. Eva Brann, Peter Kalkavage, and Eric Salem (Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 1998); and
Plato,Republic, trans. Allan Bloom (New York: Basic Books, 1991). Throughout, I follow the standard
practice of citing Platonic texts by Stephanus number(s). All subsequent citations will be taken from here.
20 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 24.
21 Ibid.,42–3.
22 Ibid., 99.
23 Ibid.,24–5.
24 Plato,Gorgias, trans. James A. Arrieti and Roger M. Burius (Newburyport: Focus Publishing, 2007). All
subsequent citations will be taken from here.
25 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 33.
26 Plato,Apology, trans. Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998). All
subsequent citations will be taken from here.
27 A key aspect ofelenchusis shame and this reliance serves as one of the most common criticisms of the
Socratic method. Critics argue that a reliance on shame actually has the effect of dissuading the respondent
from continued inquiry. That shame should spur one on to continued inquiry and philosophy seeApology,
29d–e;Symposium, 216b; andSophist, 230c–d. Plato,Symposium, trans. Seth Benardete (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2001) and Plato,Sophist, trans. Seth Benardete (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1986). All subsequent citations will be taken from here.
28 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 102.
29 On Socrates as midwife see Plato’sTheatetus(150b–c) and Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 13. Plato,
Theatetus,trans. M.J. Levette and Rev. Myles Burnyeat (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1997). All
subsequentcitations will be taken from here.
30 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 23.
31 Ibid., 10.
32 Nelson,Socratic Method,13–14.
33 Blitz,Plato’s Political Philosophy,4.
34 Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 7. See also James Arieti,Interpreting Plato: The Dialogues as Drama
(Savage: Rowman and Littlefield, 1991), 1–17.
35 Nelson,Socratic Method, 15. Here, one will want to point out that there is a fundamental difference
between the respondent and the reader: the latter is not exposed toelenticquestioning in the same way
the respondent is. On this topic, I am inclined to side with Seeskin who argues that the act of thinking or
reflecting constitutes a form of dialog. See Seeskin,Dialogue and Discovery, 23. Support for this interpret-
ation is provided in Plato’sTheatetus(189e) where Socrates defines thinking as“A talk which the soul has
with itself about the objects under its consideration”and theSophist(263e) where Socrates engages
Theatetus again and defines thought as“speech that occurs without the voice, inside the soul in conver-
sation with itself.”
36 Plato,Laches, trans. Rosamund Kent Sprague (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1992). All subsequent
citations are taken from here.
37 Darrell Dobbs,“For Lack of Wisdom: Courage and Inquiry in Plato’s‘Laches,’”Journal of Politics48/4
(1986): 830.
38 Rosamund Kent Sprague,“Introduction,”inLaches and Charmides(Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing,
1994), 4.
39 See also James H. Nichols, Jr.,“Introduction to theLaches,”inThe Roots of Political Philosophy: Ten
Forgotten Platonic Dialogues, Thomas L. Pangle, ed. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987), 269.
40 On the centrality of irony see Charles L. Griswold, Jr.,“Irony in the Platonic Dialogues,”Philosophy and
Literature26/1 (2002): 84–106.
41 Aristide Tessitore,“Courage and Comedy in Plato’s Laches,”Journal of Politics56/1(1994): 115 – 33.
42 Ibid., 124.
The Courage of the Socratic Method 109