The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook

The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook, by Ward Farnsworth

Drawing on hundreds of quotations, this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it. Chapters include Socratic Ethics, Ignorance, Testing Principles, and Socrates and the Stoics. Socratic philosophy is still startling after all these years because it is an approach to asking hard questions and chasing after them. It is a route to wisdom and a way of thinking about wisdom. (Godine, October 2021)

Around 2,500 years ago, Plato captured Socrates in a set of dialogues that illustrate his distinctive way of questioning—a style so impactful it evolved into the Socratic method. More than just a technique, this method embodies an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt, fostering sharper thinking and countering poor mental habits. In law, politics, education, or even life's toughest questions around the kitchen table, the Socratic method remains one of humanity’s most valuable intellectual tools.

This book, filled with hundreds of Socratic quotations, guides readers through the art of Socratic thinking. It explores key themes like Socratic Ethics, Ignorance, Testing Principles, and connections to the Stoics. Socratic philosophy continues to captivate us because it fearlessly seeks wisdom by challenging assumptions and asking the difficult questions. As with The Practicing Stoic and Farnsworth’s Classical English series, Farnsworth breathes life into ancient ideas, making Socrates accessible to anyone eager to understand wisdom. This book is an invitation to engage with philosophy as Socrates did—by making sense of life and living it well.