Maieutics - Possible Origin

Possible Origin

The idea is reminiscent of the 4th century BC philosopher Plato. In the Symposium and Theaetetus dialogues, Plato discusses the Socratic method, a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving an oppositional discussion in which the defense of one point of view is pitted against the defense of another; one interlocutor may lead another to contradict himself in some way, strengthening the inquirer's own point. As to maieutics, it is based on Plato's theory of recollection (anamnesis), so that it holds that knowledge is latent in the conscious mind, awaiting discovery. This discovery is sought through dialectic and in contrast to Plato's theory, through inductive reasoning rather than deductive.

In Theaetetus, the basic question is "What is knowledge?". Theaetetus is a young student of mathematics who proposed three definitions that are refuted by Socrates, according to whom, knowledge cannot be defined as a perception, nor as a true opinion, nor as an explanation besides a true opinion. Socrates debates these arguments from a critical point of view by posing more questions, but never poses a conclusion on the matter of knowledge itself.