Nussbaum argues that universities need to cultivate critical and creative thinking, and encourage
students’empathic imagination, to stop this slide into ignorance and inhumanity. For Nussbaum,
Socratic pedagogy is central to such an education. She writes:“critical thinking should be infused
into the pedagogy of classes of many types, as students learn to probe, to evaluate evidence, to write
papers with well-structured arguments, and to analyze the arguments presented to them in other
texts.”In this way, students not only learn the art of self-examination, but also how“Socratic
thinking is important for democracy,”with the potential to shape social and political institutions.^18
With this in mind, the Socratic professor must convince students that her liberal arts course
is worthwhile. Best to begin with some practical, vocationally focused arguments. The Socratic
professor can point out that the“jobs of today”are not necessarily the“jobs of tomorrow”; students
must become economically adaptable by acquiring the“transferable”skills of oral and written
communication, as well as critical and creative thinking, best learned through liberal arts courses.^19
The professor can point to studies that demonstrate how people with liberal arts degrees are
gainfully employed over the long term.^20 She can also direct students to articles showing that
employers do not just want employees with technical skills, but also those who can communicate,
problem-solve, and create.^21
After using these arguments, the Socratic professor can then lead the discussion toward more
philosophical considerations. Phillips offers practical tips on how to burst through students’
obsession with practicality. In his introductory philosophy classes, he asks students early in the
course why they are in university. Phillips writes:
Invariably they say something like,“to get a degree”:::I ask why they want a degree:::“to
get a job.”Why a job?“To make money.”Why do you want money?“So that I can buy stuff
and support my family.”Why do you want to do that? And this is where we hit a roadblock.
After a pregnant pause, I get a few tentative answers.“Because that’s what you’re supposed to
do.”Or,“Buying stuff is fun.”Students have trouble responding to this last question because they have not spent enough time
thinking about their life goals. Phillips admits that this“first-day pedagogical approach”is not
exactly“unique or cutting edge,”but it is entirely Socratic: it questions students about topics
of immediate concern (their university education, future employment) and gets them to reflect
critically.^22 Hopefully some practically minded students will take this as an invitation to philoso-
phical reflection.
The Relativist Mindset and the Pursuit of Pleasure
The Socratic professor faces a large segment of the student population indifferent to the types of
questions Socrates examined: what is justice? Love? The good life? This indifference is due, in
large part, to the prevailing dominance of value relativism as the self-evident moral position for
generations of students. All values and truth claims are“relative”to the culture or individual, and
therefore completely“subjective.”
Relativism has been around for several decades on university campuses. In 1987 it was the main
target of Bloom’s controversial critique of higher education,The Closing of the American Mind.For
the Relativist, the Socratic method of examining others’opinions is fruitless because all opinions
and“lifestyles”are equally valuable. Most students possess an easy-going relativist mentality:
don’t get upset! It’s all good! The democratic soul is attracted to relativism because it seems to
promote tolerance of different viewpoints and ways of life. A Socratic professor is accustomed to
hearing certain refrains:“Everyone has the right to their opinion.”;“Different strokes for different
folks.”;“Judge not, lest ye be judged!”However, such sentiments may neuter critical thinking,
leading to permissive attitudes toward illiberal, intolerant, and destructive worldviews.
142 Paul Corey