saxifrage_seldon 's review for:

The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook by Ward Farnsworth

4.0

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Ward Farnsworth’s book, The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook, is my twenty-first book this year. This was a really good book and one that definitely deserves a much slower re-read, with a lot of notetaking. As the title and author’s Preface suggest, this book isn’t an academic inquiry into the teachings of Socrates as told through Plato, but instead “a practitioner’s handbook” to be used in one’s own everyday inquiries. Because of this, Farnsworth deeply analyzes Socrates in a way to showcase his argumentative and analytical style, while at the same time assessing how it can be adapted. This is done through methodological tools such as open-ended questioning, analogies, stoles, or seeing similarities between things that look different, diastoles, or seeing differences in things that look similar, among others. Moreover, it is done through adopting a certain stance when engaging with others, such as being humble and assuming ignorance on a topic, to emphasizing that the assumption of an argumentative exchange isn’t to “win,” but instead come closer to a sense of “truth” about what is being debated. Farnsworth ends his text with two summary chapters that provide an overview of how you can use these methods and worldviews in everyday exchanges. In addition to taking a deep dive into the methods laid out by Socrates, Farnsworth also showcases its connections to the Stoic and Skeptic ancient Greek schools of thought. Overall, I think this book was both extremely good and important, especially as it pertains to the state of discourse in our present juncture. Farnsworth, through Socrates, challenges us to redirect our argumentative ways and, instead of looking to overcome past thinkers, look to reengage with them and what they have to offer. I would recommend this, especially to those of you that are teachers, lawyers, or just want to have more meaningful discussions and debates.