Does the Socratic method work? The Socratic method is a form of argumentative dialogue based on asking and answering questions. It is named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates.

Does the Socratic method work? The Socratic method is a form of argumentative dialogue based on asking and answering questions. It is named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates.

“I myself know nothing, except just a little, enough to extract an argument from another man who is wise and to receive it fairly.“

— Socrates, Theaetetus, 161b

Bertrand Russell concerning the Socratic method 

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“The Socratic method is suitable for some questions, and unsuitable for others. Some matters are obviously unsuitable for treatment in this way-empirical science, for example. Socrates, in Plato's works, always pretends that he is only eliciting knowledge already possessed by the man he is questioning; on this ground, he compares himself to a midwife. The method is in harmony with the doctrine of reminiscence, according to which we learn by remembering what we knew in a former existence. As against this view, consider any discovery that has been made by means of the microscope, say the spread of diseases by bacteria; it can hardly be maintained that such knowledge can be elicited from a previously ignorant person by the method of question and answer.

The matters that are suitable for treatment by the Socratic method are those as to which we have already enough knowledge to come to a right conclusion, but have failed, through confusion of thought or lack of analysis, to make the best logical use of what we know. A question such as "what is justice?" is eminently suited for discussion in a Platonic dialogue. We all freely use the words "just" and "unjust," and, by examining the ways in which we use them, we can arrive inductively at the definition that will best suit with usage. 

All that is needed is knowledge of how the words in question are used. But when our inquiry is concluded, we have made only a linguistic discovery, not a discovery in ethics. We can, however, apply the method profitably to a somewhat larger class of cases. Wherever what is being debated is logical rather than factual, discussion is a good method of eliciting truth. Suppose some one maintains, for example, that democracy is good, but persons holding certain opinions should not be allowed to vote, we may convict him of inconsistency, and prove to him that at least one of his two assertions must be more or less erroneous. 

Logical errors are, I think, of greater practical importance than many people believe; they enable their perpetrators to hold the comfortable opinion on every subject in turn. Any logically coherent body of doctrine is sure to be in part painful and contrary to current prejudices. The dialectic method --or, more generally, the habit of unfettered discussion--tends to promote logical consistency, and is in this way useful. But it is quite unavailing when the object is to discover new facts. Perhaps "philosophy" might be defined as the sum-total of those inquiries that can be pursued by Plato's methods. But if this definition is appropriate, that is because of Plato's influence upon subsequent philosophers.“

— Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Book One, Part II. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Ch. XI: Socrates, pp. 92-93

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Background: Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) and the Socratic method

Socrates was a Classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. 

The Socratic method remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of questions is asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. The Socratic method is also a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.

Socrates was a highly enigmatic and polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted only a day, he was sentenced to death and ordered to drink a poison brew mostly consisting of hemlock, honey and milk (honey was used mask the taste of the hemlock and milk added so not to cause vomiting). Socrates spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.

Socrates last words were according to Plato:

“Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Pay it and do not neglect it.“

— Socrates, Phaedo 118a (Ὦ Κρίτων τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ ὀφείλομεν ἀλεκτρυόνα. ἀλλὰ ἀπόδοτε καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσητε)

Image: Bust of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Ancient Greek sculptor Lysippos. Currently housed in The Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.