Welcome to the Socratic Cafe at the End of the Universe Serving Questions and Hemlock Since 399 B.C.

I know that I know nothing.

Socrates

What is Socratic Cafe?

Socratic Cafe refers to the open exchange of ideas.  Mrs. Kearney uses the term to describe regular classroom dialogues which focus on developing insight to the essential questions of literature and philosophy.  On the website, Socratic Cafe refers to the central location of resources, documents, and links that will help you prepare for the study of literature. 

Who was Socrates?

 Socrates was a Greek philosopher (469 B.C.-399 B.C.) who is known to us only through dialogues and discourses of his students, especially the philosopher Plato.  Charged with heresy for corrupting the youth of Athens, Plato committed suicide by drinking poison hemlock rather than escaping the charges and facing exile from Athens. 

The great philosopher taught by asking a series of questions designed to lead the student to revelation and insight as he defended his position through the presentation of opposing ideas. The method of teaching is called the Socratic Method, or elenchus, or "cross-examination." 

Another idea to which Socrates lends his name is the Socratic Paradox.  According to Socrates, knowledge and virtue are the same; therefore, no one does wrong knowingly.   People act immorally, but they do not do so deliberately. Acts of harm are acts of ignorance; however, inidividuals are accountable for what they know and do not know. There are two types of Socratic Pardoxes, self-referential and contrary to common sense. The quotation at the top of the page: "I know I know nothing" is an example of a self-referential Socratic Paradox. "This sentence is false" is an example of the second type of paradox. Plato wrote about these paradoxes in Protagoras. 

Online Quiz about Socrates

How do we use Socratic Cafe?

Mrs. Kearney believes that the questions are more important than the answers, so we use Socratic Cafe online and in the classroom to generate more questions. Your answers to the questions should lead you to more questions.  Use the resources on this website to help you prepare for class discussion and develop your own questions pointing you in a crooked line. 

Tips for Parents from NCTE (PDF 89 KB)

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