(b) Maieutics
The maieutic method was employed by Socrates to bring his pupils and interlocutors to full consciousness. It is, essentially, a method in which dialogue is the chief instrument of learning: by engaging in meaningful, analytical debate with others, we discover, uncover, reveal (our own) true knowledge. (An interesting point of fact: the Greek word aletheia, which is often translated into English as “truth” means something more like “unconcealment.”)
While Socratic maieutics seem very rationalistic (something like a route to what we would think of as “scientific” knowledge), Richard Rorty, in his 1989 book Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, suggests that our maieutic relationships or contacts with others are essential to our moral and social well-being. We need conversation with others who can hear and understand us, he suggests, otherwise we would not be able to make sense of who we are, nor live with the many doubts we have about ourselves and the world we live in.
Works Cited
Rorty, R. (1989). Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
While Socratic maieutics seem very rationalistic (something like a route to what we would think of as “scientific” knowledge), Richard Rorty, in his 1989 book Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, suggests that our maieutic relationships or contacts with others are essential to our moral and social well-being. We need conversation with others who can hear and understand us, he suggests, otherwise we would not be able to make sense of who we are, nor live with the many doubts we have about ourselves and the world we live in.
Works Cited
Rorty, R. (1989). Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.