Socratic fallacy. Leo Strauss 2022-11-17

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The Socratic fallacy, also known as the Socratic paradox, is a logical fallacy that occurs when a person's beliefs are challenged and they respond by questioning the validity of the challenge rather than providing evidence to support their beliefs. This fallacy is named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, who was known for his method of questioning and challenging the beliefs of others in order to arrive at truth.

The Socratic fallacy is often used as a defensive mechanism to avoid having to defend one's beliefs. When faced with a challenge to their beliefs, the person committing the fallacy may attempt to deflect the challenge by questioning the qualifications or motivations of the person making the challenge, rather than addressing the substance of the challenge itself. This can be seen as a way of avoiding the discomfort or fear of having one's beliefs challenged, rather than engaging in honest and open-minded dialogue.

One example of the Socratic fallacy can be seen in the way some people respond to criticism of their beliefs. Rather than addressing the specific points being raised, they may attack the critic, questioning their credentials or motivations, or accusing them of being biased or closed-minded. This can be an effective tactic in the short term, as it allows the person committing the fallacy to avoid having to defend their beliefs. However, in the long term, it can be damaging to the person's credibility and reputation, as it suggests that they are unwilling or unable to engage in honest and open-minded dialogue.

Another way in which the Socratic fallacy can be seen is in the way some people respond to evidence that contradicts their beliefs. Rather than considering the evidence and reevaluating their beliefs in light of it, they may attempt to discredit the evidence or the sources of the evidence, again questioning the qualifications or motivations of the person presenting it. This can be seen as a way of avoiding the cognitive dissonance that can be caused by having to confront evidence that contradicts one's beliefs.

The Socratic fallacy is a common and damaging form of reasoning that can hinder the search for truth and hinder the development of open-minded and critical thinking skills. It is important to be aware of this fallacy and to be willing to examine and challenge one's own beliefs in light of evidence and reasoned argument. By avoiding the Socratic fallacy and engaging in honest and open-minded dialogue, we can better arrive at truth and increase our understanding of the world around us.

Socratic method

socratic fallacy

Detroit: U of Detroit P, 1964. In Emberley, Peter; Cooper, Barry eds. Review of Politics 53, no. No student is certain before class whether she will be called on to discuss difficult issues or to respond to answers provided by one of her colleagues. Walter Benjamin: The Story of a Friendship.

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The unexamined life is not worth living

socratic fallacy

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy. Gabriel Bartlett and Svetozar Minkov. Edited transcript of 1959 lectures. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2001. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Reading is of no use to him; he is too lacking in knowledge to understand what the author says. The Memorabilia appeared in the Florence Junta in 1516.

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The Socratic fallacy undone: British Journal for the History of Philosophy: Vol 27, No 6

socratic fallacy

Perspectives on Political Science 33, no. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pangle Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1989 29—30. Independent Journal of Philosophy 3 1979 , 111—18. Mistakes-or perhaps, more accurately, tentative steps toward a solution that lead us down unavailing but illuminating paths-are part of learning.

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Reductio ad absurdum

socratic fallacy

Many of us use, at least occasionally, the style of legal pedagogy known as the Socratic Method. Faith and Political Philosophy: The Correspondence between Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin, 1934-1964. Plato links the concept of episteme explicitly with the concept of logos; the connection between the terms may have been analytic. Staub in Jewish Philosophy: Medieval and Modern, printed in The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books 1992 p. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987 907—8.

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"Plato and the "Socratic Fallacy"" by William J. Prior

socratic fallacy

Phronesis offers the reader specialist articles and book notes from top scholars in Europe and North America. Following the guidelines of the Socratic seminar, students engage in small group discussions. Logic as a Human Instrument. Although this last is sometimes called the Socratic fallacy, this can be regarded as being uncharitable to Socrates, whose concern was not simply with meaning, but more with notions like justice or reason, for which our inability to provide principles may well reflect ignorance and muddle. Reading Leo Strauss by On Tyranny. Current issues are available through the Scholarly Publishing Collective. Lilla summarizes Strauss as follows: Philosophy must always be aware of the dangers of tyranny, as a threat to both political decency and the philosophical life.

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The Socratic problem for fallacy theory

socratic fallacy

These emphases denote usage of slanting terms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987 60. It is not the only method of teaching we use at the University of Chicago Law School; instead we calibrate our teaching techniques to fit our abilities, the nature of the material, time constraints, and other factors. These include a belief that the state's land belongs to it even though it may have been acquired illegitimately and that citizenship is rooted in something more than accidents of birth. All that follows is that one cannot know that an alleged example of a term T is a genuine example until one has a general account of what it is to be T.

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Leo Strauss

socratic fallacy

The Reductio Ad Absurdum Argument Prior to Aristotle. Copyright 1998 by The Green Bag, Inc. Throughout the volume he argues for the Socratic reading of civil authority and rejects the conventionalist reading of which atheism is an essential component. This is what Aristotle was trying to represent. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. Conversations with Susan Sontag, Interview with M. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019.

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Library Genesis

socratic fallacy

But perhaps this distinction is mistaken. Founded in 1918, the Press publishes more than 40 journals representing 18 societies, along with more than 100 new books annually. The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991. It also encourages students to prepare for class, which will enable them to learn more from the Socratic dialogue that takes place. New York: Palgrave, 2014, pp.


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Plato and the "Socratic Fallacy" in: Phronesis Volume 43 Issue 2 (1998)

socratic fallacy

Find out more about the. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. Review of Politics 64, no. Ambury — Socrates 469—399 B. .

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Definist fallacy

socratic fallacy

The questions about bias lead to other ones about open-mindedness: All of this investigation led me to seriously question the assumptions that I had started with: that confirmation bias was pervasive, ubiquitous, and problematic, and that more open-mindedness was always better. The evidence for one horn of the dilemma — for Socrates' disavowal of knowledge — is spread out so abundantly on the surface of Plato's text that no one reading it even in a poor translation could miss it. Green - The Clouds p. Adaptation of the two essays in Howard Spaeth, ed. Most students have heard of the Socratic Method; some remember Professor Kingsfield from The Paper Chase and the terror his students felt every time they entered his Contracts class.

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