and opens up to the world of knowledge. On the relationship betweenelenchusand the dialog
format, Nelson writes,
Only persistent pressure to speak one’s mind, to meet every counter question, and to state the
reasons for every assertion transforms the power of that allure into an irresistible compulsion.
This art offorcingminds tofreedomconstitutes the first secret of the Socratic method.^35Summary
Three aspects of the Socratic method have been identified here: 1) the subject matter of Socratic
philosophy is virtue; 2) the method proceedsvia elenticquestioning; and 3) it is presented in dialog
format. The student-centered quality of the Socratic method is evident not only in its starting
position, i.e., the opinions held by the respondent, but in the subject matter of Socratic philosophy.
Socratic philosophy is not fundamentally concerned with arriving at abstract understandings of
virtue and the specific virtues. The fundamental concern is more practical: the moral development
of the interlocutors. Socrates seeks to free their souls from those qualities (e.g., anger, arrogance)
that undermine or threaten philosophic inquiry and prevent the respondent from examining her
own life. This reorientation of the soul, of its“release and healing from bonds and folly,”is a
consequence ofelenticquestioning (Republic, 515c). Here, Socrates serves as a guide that reveals
to the respondent her own ignorance. It is only after recognizing this fact that it truly becomes
possible to pursue the truth. In the same way, Plato’s use of the dialog format engages the reader
and draws her into the conversation. Now an interlocutor of Socrates, the reader is invited to hold
her position up to critical examination.
Plato’sLachesPart I: The Socratic Method as Student-Centered Learning
The next two sections provide an analysis of Plato’sLachesand demonstrate how Socratic student-
centered learning operates in practice. They also show how this understanding provides the reader
with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of theLachesitself. The question pursued here is as
follows: what does theLachesreveal about the nature of the Socratic method and Socratic learning?
In pursuit of this question, it is possible to treat Socrates’examinations of Laches and Nicias in the
second half of the text as two examples of the Socratic method in practice that reveal insights into
the nature of Socratic student-centered learning. Before turning to this, however, it is necessary to
address the question: what is one to do with the first half of theLaches?
Socrates does not enter the dialog until 184d and it is not until the end of the first half of the dialog
that Socrates assumes his standard place at the center of the conversation; and it is only after
Socrates assumes this position that courage, the virtue of interest in theLaches, is introduced (189c,
190c).^36 The first half of theLachesestablishes a correct understanding of the Socratic method that
should be employed when analyzing the exchanges between Socrates, Laches, and Nicias that
occur in the second half of the dialog. Approaching theLachesthrough the lens of the Socratic
method provides readers with valuable information that helps them to overcome the obstacles
preventing them from pursuing philosophy and thus avoiding the aporetic ending of the dialog itself
(199e).
The Purpose of Lysimachus and Melesias
At the outset, the reader is introduced to Lysimachus and Melesias who, despite having very
accomplished fathers (Aristeides and Thucydides), have amounted to little. Unable to tell their sons
of any meaningful deeds of their own, Lysimachus and Melesias seek the advice of Laches and
Nicias with regard to how they should educate their own sons. Interestingly, their own lack of
98 Jordon B. Barkalow