Who claimed that in philosophy questions are more important than answers?
Socrates (470-399 BC) was a Greek philosopher who sought to get to the foundations of his students' and colleagues' views by asking continual questions until a contradiction was exposed, thus proving the fallacy of the initial assumption.
Socrates argued for the necessity of probing individual knowledge, and acknowledging what one may not know or understand.
Briefly put, questions are more important than answers because questions seek to understand–to clarify and frame and evaluate while answers, at their best, are temporary responses whose relative quality can decay over time, needing to be reformed and remade and reevaluated as the world itself changes.
Broadens your perspective
If you never questioned anything, your perspectives would be limited. Asking questions - whether it is about yourself, others, or how the world functions - makes you ponder different options. This encourages growth as it allows you to consider different angles.
Developed by the Greek philosopher, Socrates, the Socratic Method is a dialogue between teacher and students, instigated by the continual probing questions of the teacher, in a concerted effort to explore the underlying beliefs that shape the students views and opinions.
The teaching of Socrates can be summarized by the words question everything. Socrates lived his life questioning every assumption or piece of wisdom people around him believed as the truth.
Socrates, the early Greek philosopher and teacher, believed that disciplined and thoughtful questioning enabled the student to logically examine and validate ideas.
The 3 Basic But Big Questions of Philosophy Deal with Existence. Where did we come from? Why are we here and how should we live? Is there hope for our future and life after death?
Philosophical questions are a great way to improve important thinking skills like reasoning and logic. As philosophical questions don't always have answers, sometimes they just create further questions! But these questions are an important way for us to understand ourselves and the world around us.
It's a bit like the Socratic method flipped on its head. Socrates wandered around Athens asking questions to get at a deeper truth. Since then philosophy and law teachers have used questions as a way to get students to think more deeply, rather than giving them the information directly.
Why questioning is powerful?
Powerful questions can help the receiver of the question find greater clarity about their own learning, their own behavior, or push them to look at something in a new way.
We ask questions in order to learn more information about something, and we answer questions to provide more information. Asking and answering questions is not only a part of how we learn, but it is also a part of our social skills; we ask and answer questions to be polite and build and maintain relationships.
Originally Answered: Would you rather have Questions you cannot answer than Answers you cannot question? Definitely the questions. Answers that cannot be questioned are arbitrary, offer no opportunity for growth. There is no way to verify their veracity.
Socrates spent the majority of his life asking questions, always in search of the truth. He is responsible for developing what is known as the Socratic method, a technique still used by professors in law schools today. Instead of lecturing the students, professors will ask them a series of thought-provoking questions.
Socrates, the early Greek philosopher/teacher, believed that disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning enabled the student to examine ideas logically and to determine the validity of those ideas. In this technique, the teacher professes ignorance of the topic in order to engage in dialogue with the students.
Who was John Dewey? John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator who was a founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism, a pioneer in functional psychology, and a leader of the progressive movement in education in the United States.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.
“Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man.” “Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.” “The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.”
Albert Einstein is known for the short quote, “Question Everything”. He was encouraging curiosity and an expansive mind. The truth is we are born with a natural desire to question everything and be curious, but along the path of growing up many of us lose that desire.
- What do you mean by that?
- How do you know?
- Can you give me an example?
- What are the consequences of that?
- What is the counterargument?
How did Socrates answer questions?
Socrates was able to answer questions from anyone through his method of questioning, known as the Socratic method. This method involved asking questions to clarify and examine someone's beliefs, rather than providing direct answers.
One day, Plato asked Socrates What love is. Socrates said: I ask you to go across this rice field, pick up and bring back the biggest and best ear of wheat, but remember one thing, you cannot go back, and you just have one chance. Then Plato did so, but he came back with nothing after a long time.
Why is there something rather than nothing? The fundamental problem of metaphysics, argued Martin Heidegger, was why there was anything at all rather than nothing. After all, most people expect that when something exists there is a cause for it.
1. Why is there something rather than nothing? Our presence in the universe is something too bizarre for words.
The philosophers of every age have all tried to answer the same set of fundamental questions: What is his the ultimate nature of the universe? What is man's place in the cosmic scheme? Is there a God -and if so, what is his will?
