In case you are wondering what the Dialogue category may be about, and without belaboring the point at this time, while construction is underway, we’ll hope that a simple hint will suffice.
The Socratic Method dates back several thousand years in our collective history to at least the time of Socrates, (circa 400 BC) and even perhaps much earlier, but his name and the name of his pupil, Plato, are most commonly associated with it. The idea is to examine certain issues or topics by means of a dialectic (for our purposes, a form of logical discourse) in which the speakers seek insight into usually deep philosophical issues in a simple question-and-answer conversation (which we will refer to simply as a Dialogue, or perhaps a Socratic Dialogue).
Now fast-forward to the 21st century of our own experience. It is our intent to ignore the intricacies of what the Socratic Method might actually mean in different contexts, as well as which words should be used to describe it. Here, we shall pursue hypothetical dialogues usually involving one person who poses questions and another who attempts to answer them in an effort to move toward a deeper understanding of the issue in question and perhaps to shine more light on what we might call the “essence” of the issue and its implications. If nothing else, we should at least bring attention to the issue.
The goal is to shine a probing light on the issue to see what might be uncovered and what the implications might lead to. Our “issues” will typically be drawn from new (mostly technological) developments which we read or hear about in our press every day. Anyone who has ever been involved with problem solving in almost any form will surely understand what we have in mind. We will be limited by time and space in our current venue, but after all, sometimes it is the journey (or thought) itself that is most important.
It should be fun to find where our journeys may lead us!
As a reminder, Socrates himself said, upon the occasion of the trial that led to his death, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato, The Apology).
We’ll look forward to seeing you here again as we start this new journey of inquiry and contemplation.