Rules of a Socratic Seminar

Picture this:

You've just made an impeccable argument for your case- sealed tight with indisputable facts, graphs, an exquisitely refined thesis and beautiful powerpoint to go with it. Complacently, you sit back in your chair and seal your case with a smug sip of your caramel macchiato. You proudly observe your impressed audience across the table nod in praise of your argument- everyone, you notice in disdain, except for one annoying and yawning face in the back, looking up from his phone only to roll his eyes. It's Jimmy, who always disagrees with your argument, no matter how well-defined and eloquently you presented it.

"Yeah okay," he scoffs, smacking his gum. "I guess people like you just aren't educated on what America is built on..."

Your face begins to burn in anger. Didn't you just spend 15 minutes addressing exactly what America was built on?

"Actually, Jimmy," you say, as you attempt to swallow your anger, "I think I covered that in my argument. If only you'd listen to my presentation, instead of flipping through fake news articles on Facebook.."

The group erupts in laughter as you watch Jimmy turn a satisfying shade of pink.

"You don't understand what's really important in this country. That's what's wrong with you and your stupid generation- you're ruining America!"

How stupid is this guy! You can barely contain your anger as you abruptly cut him off-

"Oh yeah Jimmy? Did you listen to anything I say? You never listen to me! You're just so dumb! You're just a dumb ignorant racist!"

The group gasps. Jimmy slowly rises from his seat, panting in fury as his face transitions from pink to a shade of beet red.

"Oh yeah, you little b*%#$? You want to call me dumb? You have no respect! You're just a brat! Someone needs to show you your place!!"

He takes three menacing steps towards you as you quickly back peddle, throwing a chair out of the way in the process.

He swings a punch, and you duck just in time. You tackle him, pinning him to the ground as you hear screams coming from across the coffee shop. The anger swells like a volcanic eruption in your chest, pulsating through your veins, flooding your mind as you lunge for his throat-

Okay. Let's stop there and analyze this situation. What went wrong?

There were many bad decisions made in this situation that led to the final outcome (you lunging for Jimmy's throat).

First of all, what rules were broken in this situation?

1. Personal Attacks

You may disagree with someone's opinion -vehemently disagree- but you cannot use personal attacks (name calling, insulting a group to which a person belongs to, blatant insensitivity, etc) to prove your point. The best way to debate is to focus on the issue, not the person. You're not fighting a person- you're fighting an opinion that is proposed by another person. On the flip side of this, it is also important to not feel personally attacked by criticism of your argument. As long as this criticism is supported by factual evidence and/or critical analysis, you should consider it. Even experts in subjects disagree with each other, but taking personal offense at differences in opinions will only damage relationships and inhibit your own arguments.

2. Physical Violence (clearly)

This may seem obvious, but it doesn't make this rule obsolete. How often do we see violence resulting from protests and heated arguments in our own society? Though it is not likely in our own situation, it is important to never revert to violence in any heated situation. It's also important to remember that violence also includes any form of physical intimidation.

3. Interruptions

In our seminar, it's important to allow people to speak without fear of interruption. This allows every person to be heard and feel the freedom to speak. Each person should speak one at a time without talking over one another.

4. Phone Use

During discussion time, phones are not allowed to be out, and are preferred to be out of sight. If you need to take a phone call, it's fine to excuse yourself from the discussion. It's important that we all listen to one another and are present in the conversation.

5. Profanity

In our discussions, there should not be need for profanity unless it is included as part of the discussion. This includes racial slurs or any word that may be offensive to others.

6. Contempt

Signs of contempt include rolling your eyes, passive-aggressive comments, or any other attempts to put another person down. Making it clear to another person that you are superior than them is a certain way to build divides and prevent constructive conversation.

7. "Winner"/"Loser" Mentality

Coming to any discussion expecting a "winner" and a "loser" is setting yourself up to fail. The point of a Socratic discussion is to assist one another by offering insightful analysis and evidence on a topic. In this way, we can expand each others' boundaries and develop more complex and diverse opinions. It's absolutely okay to not agree with someone else's argument. In fact, its encourage to critique one another and propose contradictions to all arguments. It's also wonderful to deliver an extremely compelling argument with the intent of convincing the rest of the group. However, it's not a competition- the goal is personal growth.

Another important thing to consider in this situation is the lack of effectiveness of either argument. Instead of reasonably discussing differences, the argument became personal and quickly escalated to violence. By letting anger take the front seat, both parties actually get more inflamed and solidified in their own arguments. Resorting to anger only gives the other party more ground with their own argument- and puts the attention on emotions, rather than the argument itself.

By practicing peace and and composure during debates (even when dealing with frustrating or stubborn people), we give more substance to our argument and make a better case for it.