By transforming the interlocutors from passive into active learners, Socrates highlights the student-
centered quality of the Socratic method.
However, the identification of virtue as the topic of consideration differentiates Socratic
student-centered learning from contemporary emphasis on skills. In establishing virtue as the
proper subject matter and the Socratic method as the proper means of pursuing knowledge, the
first half of theLachesshows that Socrates addresses two, interrelated tensions instead of a single
tension. In addition to the tension between politics and philosophy, it is shown here that Socrates
also addresses the tension between himself and the sophists regarding rival accounts of what
constitutes philosophy and knowledge.
This reading of the first half of theLachesis similar to those of Sprague and Nicholls as the
question of courage is situated within a larger context of questions about education and virtue.
My reading differs from their respective readings in that this understanding is provided by Socrates
and not Lysimachus. The above interpretation follows the lead of Arieti and Tessitore in viewing
Melesias and Lysimachus as comic figures who represent an incorrect view of philosophy and
knowledge. Thus, the second half of the dialog, whereSocrates examines Laches and Nicias,is both
an examination of the tension between politics and philosophy as well as the tension between rival
accounts of philosophy, knowledge, and virtue.
LachesPart II: Socratic Student-Centered Learning in Practice
Socrates and Laches
Having established that virtue consists of the harmony between one’s words and actions (188d),
Socrates proceeds to investigate Laches and Nicias. In Socratic fashion, Laches is asked to define
courage, but he instead defines the courageous person (190e). Rather than admonishing Laches,
Socrates employselenticquestioning in an effort to get Laches to see for himself that he has not
defined courage. In response to Laches’definition of the courageous person as one who“is willing
to remain at his post and to defend himself against the enemy without running away,”Socrates asks
Laches about the man who retreats (190e, 191a). Unable to recognize courage in retreating, Laches
is shown two examples of courage by Socrates (Homer and the Scythians) that suggest otherwise
(191a). While Laches is willing to agree with Homer, he qualifies the example of the Scythians,
saying that his definition of courage applies to their horsemen and cavalry, but not their hoplites
(191b). In making this argument Laches points to a problem with his understanding of courage: you
cannot have different definitions of courage for each of these. Getting Laches to recognize this
problem constitutes the next step in his education.
Laches’poor answer allows Socrates to expand the scope of their inquiry. Summarizing this
expansion, Socrates tells Laches that“all these men are brave, but some possess courage in plea-
sures, some in pains, some in desires, and some in fears. And others, I think, show cowardice in the
same respects”(191e). Not only does Socrates want Laches to recognize that courage is present in
things as diverse as warfare and pleasure/pain/desire, but that the particular virtues are related to one
another in light of the fact that they are virtues. Unfortunately, Laches is never able to recognize this
and, despite the best efforts of Socrates, Laches must admit that he does not have a clear under-
standing of what Socrates is asking him (191d). The source of Laches’difficulty lies in the fact that
he views courage as a fine thing, but that he does not understand what makes something fine (192c).
Ultimately, Socrates shows Laches that fine things are regulated by wisdom and that things
accompanied by folly become harmful and dangerous (192c–d). In recognition of this, Laches
modifies his definition of courage from endurance of the soul to wise endurance (192d). If the latter
makes it through examination, it would harmonize deed and action thus satisfying the requirements
of virtue. To the extent that it does not, the reader is presented with a sense of the obstacles that stand
in the way of acquiring knowledge and leading a life of virtue.
The Courage of the Socratic Method 101