This is a philosophy bites with me David Edmonds and me Nigel Warburton.

Philosophy bites is available at www

philosophy bites.com. According to the dictionary a question is an expression of inquiry that invites a

reply. No figure in the history of ideas has been more associated with the

question than Socrates one of the founders of Western philosophy. He gave his name

to a type of investigation through dialogue, the so-called Socratic method. His questions

and truth-seeking so annoyed the Athenians that he was tried and found guilty of corrupting young minds.

His punishment in 399 BC was death through drinking Hemlock.

Professor M. M. McCabe of King's College London

submits herself to a rigorous questioning by Philosophy Bites.

Mm-M- McCabe, welcome to Philosophy Bites.

Thank you very much for inviting me.

We're going to talk about Socratic Method.

That's the method of Socrates.

But who was Socrates?

Socrates was the ugliest man in Athens

in the 5 fifth century BC. He was grubby and fairly

disreputable to look at but demanding all the time of his interlocutors of their attention.

He caused some difficulties in Athens because he was always asking people deep questions about why they did what they did.

And the Athenians, it turned out, didn't like that terribly much.

They thought that somehow rather he was responsible for subversive elements in the state

and that he was responsible in particular for some of the political difficulties that Athens was in at the end of the 5th century. So at the age of 70 in 399

...