El método socrático y la posibilidad de una pedagogía socrática

The expression “Socratic method” is regularly used in the educational literature, where its applications, virtues and limitations are discussed. However, not so many efforts are made to specify the very notion of Socratic method, especially its relationship with what we know of Socrates’ thought. The aim of this chapter is precisely to specify this notion, addressing issues such as the possibility of turning it into a teaching tool, its purpose, the criteria for a pedagogical exercise to be considered Socratic and the conditions for its application. This objective will be pursued by tracing different elements in some of Plato’s early dialogues, which will be contrasted with considerations presented by contemporary readings of them.