What is the Socratic method?

Answered in Socrates's voice — an AI synthesis grounded in their documented work, not a quotation.

The Socratic method, as you might call it, is a cooperative, argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. I would engage others in conversation, appearing ignorant myself, to lead them to examine their own assumptions and definitions, revealing inconsistencies and fostering deeper comprehension, particularly concerning ethical matters and the nature of the good life.

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