argument is that while the Socratic method often takes place within a single language, pre-
supposes the superiority of certain norms, and tries to encourage students to live philosophically,
it is one of the few teaching methods that allows for and thrives on difference, and that encourages
reflection upon the method itself. Indeed, many of the criticisms leveled at the Socratic method
can be applied to any teaching method whatsoever. This is not to say these concerns are trivial;
often they reveal deeply important truths about the human condition. Yet, it is noteworthy that in
various ways the Socratic method, when properly conducted, tries to overcome some of the
problems every teaching method faces. For this reason, as elaborated on in the rest of this chapter,
it seems to me that the Socratic method may be an exceptional educational model for culturally
diverse classrooms.
The“Linguistic Imperialism”Critique
One criticism leveled at the Socratic method derives from the view that language constrains what
humans can express and that the imposition of a particular language therefore functions as an act
of domination. Derrida explores the politics of language inMonolingualism of the Other, Or, The
Prosthesis of Origin. Born into a Jewish family in Algeria during the period of French colo-
nialism, Derrida recounts how he was forced to learn French in school rather than Arabic or
Berber. This experience helped him recognize the role of language in constructing power
relations. As Derrida explains,“Every culture institutes itself through the unilateral imposition of
some‘politics’of language. Mastery begins, as we know, through the power of naming, of
imposing and legitimating appellations.”^7 Though he could question or challenge the language,
he could only do so within the language itself.^8 Hence, French exercised a kind of tyranny over
him, an alien language imposed as a result of the particular historical event of colonization. The
efforts the French colonizers made to exclude the native languages of Algeria demonstrated their
own recognition of the power of language. In another series of lectures, Derrida draws out the
implications thusly:
In the broad sense, the language in which the foreigner is addressed or in which he is heard, if he
is, is the ensemble of culture, it is the values, the norms, the meanings that inhabit the language.
Speaking the same language is not only a linguistic operation. It’s a matter ofethosgenerally.^9The“linguistic imperialism”critique thus bleeds into the“normative imperialism”critique examined
in the next section. Speaking in a particular vernacular shapes the range of thoughts available for
expression; the very structure or grammar of the language limits and influences what is conveyed,
privileging certain norms. Language is not, in other words, the neutral tool we often take it to be.
Insofar as the Socratic method is couched within a specific language, it is therefore culturally
imperialistic according to this critique. To be sure, the conversations depicted in the Platonic
dialogs only take place in Greek. Indeed, when Socrates sets out in theMenoto provide concrete
evidence of how his method of questioning can help even an uneducated person“recollect”
knowledge of mathematics by demonstrating the use of this method on a slave, the first question he
asks is if the slave can speak Greek (82b). The ability of teacher and student to speak the same
language is a prerequisite for learning, and never do we see Socrates propose the possibility of his
speaking in a language other than Greek–though he claims to interrogate“anyone [he] happens to
meet, young and old, foreigner and citizen”and lives in one of the most culturally diverse cities in
the ancient world (Apology, 30a). It would seem, then, that the Socratic method involves the
imposition of a particular language on its participants, as well as the framework of values and norms
that, as Derrida says,“inhabits”that language.
Modern day uses of the Socratic method may be equally subject to this critique. One scholar,
reflecting on his experience as a teacher of Athabascan students in the remote Alaskan village of
Is Socrates Culturally Imperialistic? 127