Mayevtika is ... Mayevtika in philosophy

The great philosopher Socrates invented a unique method of conducting a discussion called Mayevtic. This is a very effective method, which is used in our time. In fact, he is almost the only way to convince his opponent in the opposite. In this case, the interlocutor can be skillfully driven into a dead end by his own allegations. What is the essence and uniqueness of this method? Let's try to figure this out.

Socrates and his life

About the life of Socrates is not very well known, but the information that came to us through the centuries, it seems very interesting.

Socrates is an Athenian philosopher, born in 469 BC. E. It was his figure that marked the so-called turn in philosophy - from the consideration of nature to the consideration of man.

As for the life and fate of the philosopher, some theologians of the patristic period have drawn analogies between Socrates and Jesus. It is known that the first was the son of a sculptor. In adulthood, he married Xanthippe - a very grumpy woman, whose name even became a household name.

"I only know that I do not know anything, but others do not even know this." Perhaps everyone heard this phrase, which, according to the researchers, belongs to Socrates. By this principle, he lived.

It is known that the philosopher did not leave behind a single line. About his thoughts and beliefs, mankind has learned only from the labors of his disciples - Xenophon and Plato. Socrates was convinced that writing down one's own thoughts weakens human memory. To the truth of his students, the thinker failed with the help of a skilfully built dialogue. It was in conversations and dialogues that he created his own method, known today as Mayevtic. This can be called a huge contribution to philosophical thought.

The trial of Socrates and the death of the philosopher

In 399 BC, the great sage was accused of blasphemy and corruption of the younger generation. About the ship process of Socrates we learn from the works of Plato and Xenophon. The philosopher refused to pay a fine, and from the offer of friends to kidnap him from prison.

Was Socrates really guilty? According to modern historians from the University of Cambridge, was. At that time, the actions of the eccentric philosopher could indeed be classed as illegal.

As a result, the thinker was sentenced to death, and he himself took the poison. The process of Socrates' death is described in detail by the same Plato. What exactly the sage was poisoned is unknown. According to one hypothesis, it was spotted hemlock.

Socrates really became a victim of his wisdom. However, his thoughts are still alive, including the unique method of Mayevtica. Let's try to understand in more detail what it is, what are its features.

The Socratic Method

Mayevtika is "the art of the midwife," as Socrates himself called it. One can still find such a definition as "Socratic irony" or "Socratic conversation".

Mayevtika in philosophy is, in fact, the way to realize the principle of "Know thyself." With the help of this technique, the opponent not only realizes his injustice, he also becomes a competitor of true knowledge. "There is nothing stronger than knowledge" - this is what Socrates said ...

In translation from Greek, mayevtic is "midwifery". The essence of this method is to bring the interlocutor to an understanding of the actual state of things through the formulation of guiding, specially thought-out questions. Thus, the opponent himself comes to the truth, and you only imperceptibly push him to it.

The makeweight of Socrates is, first of all, the ability to put competent questions in a dialogue. The philosopher was convinced that the true knowledge can only come through the self-knowledge of another person. And for this, a purification procedure is needed, carried out by raising questions about the essence of a particular phenomenon.

Socrates' maiewectic is a weapon in an intellectual dispute

The great philosopher personally developed a method that has not lost its relevance to this day. Nobody will deny that it is dialogue, discussion, constructive dispute that is an important tool for gaining new knowledge and understanding the level of its incompetence.

In general, Socrates in his life only did that he asked questions. He liked very much to talk with an arrogant man, to watch how he, entangled in his tricky questions, instantly lost all his arrogance and confidence.

It should be noted that the dialogue on the "question-and-answer" principle was actively used by other philosophers, in particular - sophists. However, they had such an argument only as an end in themselves. But Socrates never engaged in verbiage, he believed that any dialogue should lead to a specific goal. In his conversations, he himself tried to find answers to the fundamental questions of being: "What is good from evil?", "What is justice?" etc.

Examples of Socratic Mayetics

Socrates was a very sly, ironic and dangerous conversationalist. Usually in conversations he pretended to be a naive simpleton, luring his opponent into his insidious networks.

There is a record of a conversation between a wise man and a certain Menon. To begin with, Socrates asked the latter about the nature of his activities. Without suspecting any dirty tricks, the good-natured Menon begins to teach the philosopher. However, very soon, due to correctly posed questions, the interlocutor is completely lost. Socrates, in turn, continues to sneer at the naive victim.

When the opponent lost his self-confidence, he was ready for a joint search for the truth. Asking another, Socrates himself examined the subject of the conversation, because he did not consider himself knowledgeable. That's why he called his art "midwife", because in such a dialogue, truth was born.

Short conclusions

Thus, mayaevtika in philosophy is the art of asking questions. Socrates was sure that "knowing is knowing what it is." That is, to be fair, you need to clearly understand what justice is, and be able to give it an adequate definition. Thus, Socrates first brought knowledge to the level of the concept.

The method of Mayevtics considered by us has not lost its relevance even after more than two thousand years after its invention. And today you can meet craftsmen who effectively use this technique in practice.