What did Socrates say about the role of the midwife?
Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A (Socio, Phil) B.Se. M. Ed, Ph.D Socrates often explains that his role is that of a ***philosophical midwife***, not to tell people what the truth is, but rather to help them get out the truths that are already inside them.
What does the Theaetetus say about midwifery?
He says it thus, in The Theaetetus , 150 b-c My art of midwifery is in general like theirs [real midwives]; the only difference is that my patients are men, not women, and my concern is not with the body but with the soul that is in travail of birth.
What is Socrates’ role as a philosopher?
Socrates often explains that his role is that of a ***philosophical midwife***, not to tell people what the truth is, but rather to help them get out the truths that are already inside them.
What the Heck was Socrates doing with his life?
Socrates as Midwife. What in the heck was Socrates doing with his life? Socrates regularly used two metaphors to describe what he considered his life-work to be. One metaphor was that of the gadfly, the horsefly that stings the intellectually and morally sluggish citizens of Athens with his questioning.
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How was Socrates like a midwife?
In particular, they are both interested in the transformative practice of helping people give birth to their true self. Socrates famously used the metaphor of philosopher as midwife to help explain his particularly unique approach to philosophy. He considered it his primary goal to function as a midwife of the soul.
Why does Socrates consider himself a midwife?
Socrates believed that the truth about the ultimate issues in life lay deeply hidden within us, this process of unpacking the truth within was like that of a midwife helping a mother in labor bring forth her child. That was why he called himself the "midwife of ideas."
Was Socrates a midwife?
In Plato's Theaetetus Socrates is portrayed as a midwife of the intellect. The comparison of Socratic questioning to midwifery had until recently been commonly attributed to Socrates himself.
How is midwifery related to the philosophical method?
Socrates developed a method of questioning designed to expose weaknesses in the interrogated (sometimes referred to as the maieutic method, in which the questioner acts as a midwife, helping to give birth to others' thoughts).
What does the term midwife mean?
a person who assists women in childbirthDefinition of midwife (Entry 1 of 2) 1 : a person who assists women in childbirth — compare nurse-midwife. 2 : one that helps to produce or bring forth something. midwife.
What is the midwife metaphor?
Used metaphorically, it allows people to more fully comprehend a process, passage, or rebirth, fulfilling what may be an innate human desire—to midwife or be midwifed—that is, to give or receive compassion, strength, calm, painstaking kindness, honor, and peace.
Which Greek philosopher called himself the midwife of men?
SocratesChildrenLamprocles, Menexenus, SophroniscusFamilySophroniscus (father), Phaenarete (mother), Patrocles (half-brother)EraAncient Greek philosophyRegionWestern philosophy13 more rows
What is Concept According to Socrates?
Stumpf and Fieser state, according to Socrates, “knowledge and virtue were the same things.” For him, 'knowledge' is nothing but a concept or a truth that has a universal appeal the way it (a particular concept) exists around the world, having a responsibility built in it, to do or to bring good for the existing ...
What is the midwifery model of care?
The Midwives Model of Care includes prenatal visits and "hands-on" care throughout labor, birth and right after. It results in less chance of complications, fewer interventions, and a healthier birth for you and your baby. Women are discovering that the hospital is not the only option for safe birth.
What is philosophy of maternity care?
The ethos of midwifery care is to work in partnership with women. Midwives use professional knowledge, skills and attitudes to competently support the woman and her baby. Midwifery protects and enhances the health of women and babies, which in turn protects and enhances the health and wellbeing of society.
What was the metaphor used by Socrates in describing himself as he attempted to disturb the men of Athens from their slumber?
According to the words put into his mouth by Plato, Socrates believed that he had been sent by the gods to act as a “gadfly” to the Athenian state.
Who is Socrates philosophy?
Who was Socrates? Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher, one of the three greatest figures of the ancient period of Western philosophy (the others were Plato and Aristotle), who lived in Athens in the 5th century BCE.
What is the Socratic method?
The Socratic method is a teaching tactic in which questions are asked continually until either the student gives a wrong answer or reasoning or the teacher is satisfied with the student's responses.
Who is the teacher of Theaetetus?
Theodorus [the teacher of Theaetetus]: Theaetetus will bear it, Socrates, he is thoroughly good tempered. But do explain what is wrong with the conclusion.
Who said "I cannot make out whether you are stating some ideas about the nature of knowledge"?
Theaetetus: I cannot make out whether you are stating [some ideas about the nature of knowledge] as something you believe, or merely testing me. Socrates: You forget that I know nothing of such matters and cannot claim to be producing any offspring of my own.
Should debates be taken seriously?
A debate need not be taken seriously and one may trip up an opponent to the best of one's power, but a conversation should be undertaken seriously. One should help out the other party, and bring home to him only those slips and fallacies that are due to himself or to his earlier instructors.
What is Socratic Questioning for Teachers?
Socratic Questioning for Teachers uses techniques to promote independent and critical thinking in their students.
How can a teacher act like a stingray?
The teacher can act like a stingray by introducing a ‘shock’ into the discussion at relevant points. By asking questions which disrupt student thinking in a non-conventional way, the teacher will encourage critical and abstract thinking.
What does it mean when a teacher acts like an ignoramus?
IGNORAMUS: The teacher acts like an ignoramus, pretending they know absolutely nothing about the topic in order to ask students to explain the topic to them in detail.
Why do teachers ask students why?
By doing this it places the student in the position of teacher and encourages them to teach you and others about the topic. Often the teacher will find themselves asking students ‘why?’ repeatedly when adopting this role.
Can teachers ask too many disruptive questions?
Teachers should be mindful not to ask too many disruptive questions as this can inhibit the progression of thought, however when asked in moderation, and at an appropriate time, stingray questions can greatly enhance conversations and modes of thinking.
What did Socrates teach?
Socrates exemplified in his conduct the virtues which he taught: he was a man of remarkable self-control, magnanimous, noble, frugal, and capable of great endurance ; and his wants were few. He gave ample proof, during his life of seventy years, of physical and moral courage, in war and in the performance of his political duties. His bearing at his trial furnishes an impressive picture of moral dignity, firmness and consistency; he did what he thought was right, without fear or favor, and died as beautifully as he had lived, with charity for all and malice toward none; condemned by his own people, on a false charge of atheism and of corrupting the youth, to drink the poison hemlock (399 B.C). His respect for authority and his loyalty to the State he proved by obeying the laws himself ” and insisting that others obey them. When, after his condemnation, friends arranged a plan of escape, he refused to profit by it, o# the ground that he had enjoyed the benefits of the laws during his whole life and could not, in his old age, prove disloyal to his benefactors.
What was Socrates' education?
Socrates was born in Athens, 469 B.C., the son of poor parents, his father being a sculptor, his mother a midwife. How he acquired an education, we do not know, but his love of knowledge evidently created opportunities in the cultured city for intellectual growth. He took up the occupation of his father, but soon felt ” a divine vocation to examine himself by questioning other men.” In personal appearance Socrates was not prepossessing. He was short, stocky, and stout, blear-eyed and snub-nosed; he had a largemouth and thick lips, and was careless in his dress, clumsy and uncouth, resembling in his physical make-up a Satyr, for which reason Alcibiades, in Plato’s Symposium, likened him to the busts of Silenus. But all these peculiarities were forgotten when he began to speak, so great were his personal charm and the effect of his brilliant conversation
What did Socrates believe about the questioning method?
Socrates developed a method of questioning designed to expose weaknesses in the interrogated (sometimes referred to as the maieutic method, in which the questioner acts as a midwife, helping to give birth to others’ thoughts). He believed circumspect use of language and endless self-questioning are crucial in the quest for wisdom. Teacher of Plato, world-sage in outlook, he saw philosophy as a way of life, the highest calling of a select few. For him the highest good is knowledge. He wrote nothing but dramatically influenced the course of intellectual history.
What is the highest good Socrates?
There must be more to the matter than that; there must be some principle, or standard, or good, which all rational creatures recognize and accept when they come to think the problem out. What is the good, what is the good for the sake of which all else is good, the highest good? Knowledge is the highest good, so Socrates answers. Right thinking is essential to right action. In order to steer a ship or rule a State, a man must have knowledge of the construction and function of the ship, or of the nature and purpose of the State. Similarly, unless a man knows what virtue is, unless he knows the meaning of self-control and courage and justice and piety and their opposites, he cannot be virtuous; but, knowing what virtue is, he will be virtuous. ” No man is voluntarily bad or involuntarily good.” ” No man voluntarily pursues evil or that which he thinks to be evil. To prefer evil to good is not in human nature ; and when a man is compelled to choose between two evils, no one will choose the greater when he may have the less.” The objection is raised that ” we see the better and approve of it and pursue the evil.” Socrates would have denied that we can truly know the good and not choose it. With him knowledge of right and wrong was not a mere theoretical opinion, but a firm practical conviction, a matter not only of’ the intellect, but of the will. Besides, virtue is to a man’s interest. The tendency of all honorable and* useful actions is to make life painless and pleasant, hence the honorable work
How does Socrates test the statements made?
At other times, Socrates tests the statements made, by going back at once to first principles, by criticising them in the light of correct definitions . Here the method is deductive. You say, for example, that this man is a better citizen than that one. Your assertion, however, is a mere subjective opinion, having no value whatever unless you can give reasons for it. You should know what a good citizen you should define your terms. Knowledge, then, is possible, after all. We can attain truth if we pursue the proper method, if we define our terms correctly, if we go back to first principles. Knowledge is concerned with the general and typical, not with the particular and accidental.
How does Socrates evolve definitions?
In this way, by a process of induction , Socrates evolves definitions. With the help of examples, a provisional definition is formed; this is tested by other examples, and broadened or narrowed to meet the requirements until a satisfactory result has been reached. What Bacon would call negative instances play an important role in the process, that is, cases which contradict the provisional definition offered? The aim is always to discover the essential characteristics of the subject to be defined, to reach clear and distinct notions, or concepts.
How does Socrates test his opinion?
These he tests by means of illustrations taken from everyday life, showing, wherever possible and necessary that they are not well-founded, and that they are in need of modification and correction. He helps those taking part in the dialogue to form the correct opinion, by suggesting instances of all kinds, and does not rest content until the truth has developed step by step.
