What does dialectic mean?
Dialectic is the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, so as to determine their validity. How did Socrates use the dialectic? Socrates believed that through the process of dialogue, where all parties to the conversation were forced to clarify their ideas, the final outcome of the conversation would be a clear statement of what was meant. The technique appears simple but it is intensely rigorous. Socrates would feign ignorance about a subject and try to draw out from the other person his fullest possible knowledge about it. Socrates assumption was that by progressively correcting incomplete or inaccurate notions through discussion, one could coax the truth out of anyone. What is a Socratic circle? A Socratic circle (also called Socratic seminar) is a process to try to understand information by creating dialectic in class in regards to a specific text. In a Socratic circle, participants seek deeper understanding of complex i