One of the most enduring and influential methods of critical thinking and analysis, even today, was developed nearly 2500 years ago, by someone who made no writing of his own and was sentenced to death for his relentless questioning. Socrates, a Greek philosopher who lived in Athens from 470-399 BC, is arguably the most famour thinker of all time.
The record we have of his remarkable contribution to western thinking is captured in the writings of his students, Plato and Xenophon, his students. Plato’s dialogues outline the dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic Method. Still used today, this method is a way of breaking down a problem into a series of questions where the answers gradually distill the answer a person is looking for.
The six questions posed delve deep into underlying beliefs and knowledge to strip away assumptions and contradictions forcing one to re-examine one’s own beliefs and the validity of such beliefs. It is a negative method of hypothesis elimination. Better hypotheses are discovered by steadily identifying and eliminating contradictions.
These six questions are still highly relevant today and are indispensable to problem-solving. Problem-solving and critical thinking are indispensable to any creative pursuit or design thinking, where integrity, authenticity, and truth are important. In fact, the Socratic method of questioning is the essence of critical thinking.
Socratic questions can be used for influencing, leading, and coaching to stimulate critical thinking.
So, here are the six types of Socratic questions;
1. Questions for Clarification.
a. What is the problem you are trying to solve? [challenging the problem is a way to define exactly what the problem is]
b. Can you give me an example? [examples serve to clarify associated problems and situations that may have relevance to this problem]
c. Can you explain further? [by pushing deeper into the problem, its reasons and causes identifies the non-superficial examples]
d. Are you saying…? [classic clarification. Often restating the problem in different words adds another shade for the problem definition and subsequent solutions]
2. Questions that probe Assumptions.
a. What could we assume instead? [Assumptions are our short-hand for beliefs and habits. There are always other ways to view or think about a problem, by exploring alternative views you open up the possibility of better solutions]
b. Are you assuming…? [Identifying your assumptions is critical to your understanding of the problem and overcoming cognitive bias]
c. How can you verify or disprove that assumption? [There are 3 ways to look at any problem; what we think we know (assumptions), what we do know (facts), what we need to know (research)
d. Is that always the case? [Finding and exploring different cases broadens your outlook on possible solutions]
e. What would happen if…? [Exploring alternatives is something our brain excel at. This goes to the heart of the creative process and is often used for brainstorming and ideation. Usually the wilder the ideas and scenarios the better. Whilst not all scenarios are useable or applicable, with a growth mindset, all cases are useful even if they are useless! Failures are often the best source of learning.]
3. Questions that probe reason and evidence.
a. What would an example be? [This points to asking, “what would a potential solution look like?” Modeling solutions to problems helps to shape the solution, either structurally or strategically]
b. What is this analogous to? [the ability to use associative thinking and metaphorical thinking opens creative channels. An example may be interpreting brain function to computer software and hardware (although I think this is a poor analogy). Thinking of one thing in the context of another can be very enlightening]
c. Why do you say that? [language is often careless and reflects our habits and assumptions. Challenging language encourages us to re-assess our thinking]
d. How do you know? [what facts back up the statement. If there are no facts then this is an assumption which could be challenged.]
e. Why? [There is a technique for asking “why?” five times, developed by Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota Industries. The idea is to drill down into the reasons behind a problem or solution, like children trying to get to the heart of a reason, asking why repeatedly challenges any superficiality or assumptions about the challenge]
f. What evidence is there that supports…? [Evidence also needs to be challenged. This is the “scientific method” of publishing and peer review]
4. Considering Alternative perspectives
a. Are there any alternatives? [One of the key elements of problem-solving is seeking out alternatives and looking at other points of view]
b. What is the other side of the argument? [there is a technique whereby one assumes the persona of a person different from yourself to try to understand a different perspective. This can be highly effective, particularly in product development and marketing campaigns]
c. What makes your viewpoint better? [you must defend your position or let it go. A growth mindset is ideal for this question, whereby you learn from assumptions and failures.]
d. What is another way to look at it? What is the counter-argument? [flipping the problem to it’s opposite often reveals new insights. Reversing both the problem and the potential solution is a very strong technique for understanding the problem and the consequences of a solution.]
e. Who benefits and who would be affected by this? [people don’t want things; they want solutions to problems. (problems may come in all shapes and sizes; status, wealth, clean drinking water, identity, belonging, freedom, etc.]
f. What are the strengths and weaknesses of…? [simple SWOT analysis - Strength, Weakness, Opportunity Threat - can bring an answer to a question closer to becoming a solution]
5. Consideration of implications & Consequences.
a. What generalizations are being made? [generalizations are the companion of assumptions. We generalize because we need to group things in block and associations of understanding. Being specific focuses attention on the detail of the argument or problem]
b. What are the implications and consequences of the assumption? [certain ideas have implications which may not be immediately apparent consequences. An example may be the Poll Tax riots in the UK. In 1989 the Thatcher government replaced domestic rates, was It was levied on houses rather than people, with a flat-rate per-capita Community Charge, called the poll tax. This provoked the Poll Tax Riots across the UK.]
c. How does that affect…? [The wider the net of effect is drawn the more comprehensive the understanding of the argument or solution will be]
d. What if you’re wrong? [considering the opposite or the reverse]
e. What does our experience tell us might happen? [Common sense is often underrated and often overlooked. However, intuitive instincts are worth listening to as they often shed further light on the argument]
6. Meta-questions. Questions about the question.
a. What is the point of the question? [questioning the motives of the question. One of the key questions is, are we asking the right question?]
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”
Albert Einstein
b. What does…mean? [questioning the meaning of a question is similar to repeatedly asking “why?” All these methods are a method for understanding better them challenge and the problem]
c. Why do you think I asked this question? [by reversing the question onto someone else’s perception of the question a different shade is revealed]
d. How does …apply to everyday life, or to our business’ objectives/mission statement etc.? [Again, this is about common sense, instinct, and intuition. It’s very easy to get carried away with arguments and decisions, particularly during a new product launch, when often simply asking the simple question brings the focus back to asking the right question.
Socrates paid the ultimate price for his constant questioning and was tried and found guilty of both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety, not believing in the gods of the state. He was sentenced to death by poison.
