Authors
Gianfranco Caneva, Salvatore Calcagno, Daniela Giordano
Publication date
2023
Journal
Sistemi intelligenti
Volume
35
Issue
2
Pages
413-434
Publisher
Società editrice il Mulino
Description
Socratic dialogue is a specific type of conversation, first described by the philosopher Plato, and largely used in educational contexts (Grondin, 2018; see also Stenning et al., 2016; Knežić et al., 2013). It does not try to instil notions but rather elicit knowledge from the interlocutor. According to the Greek philosopher Socrates, this method allows knowledge and truth to be “birthed” directly from the interlocutor, since truth is not something that can be taught, and it is not possible to impose one’s ideas on another individual. The Socratic method is a dialogical method, where the two interlocutors are Socrates and a student. The conversation is structured as a series of questions and answers, with Socrates usually posing the questions in order to guide the conversation and eliminate contradictory hypotheses through refutation. Consistent with Socrates’ famous quote “I know that I know nothing”, it is inadmissible for …