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Socratic Method (from the DVD "All About Law School")

The use of the Socratic Method, as portrayed in this video, strikes me at first glance as a description of what the Socratic Method is NOT. The almost violently disturbing nature of the confrontation does not seem to be compatible with the gentle nature of the method as portrayed in Plato.  Also, in contrast to law school, Socrates and his method had no guarantees about "correct" answers for many of Socrates' questions.  This second element is more distorting than the first.  However, it seems like some of these students get shaken to their core in a way that makes them more thoughtful about the subject matter.  Thus, this application in law school does have a Socratic flavor to the extent that it drives students to think.  At the end of the video the info about a dialectical method already being in use, prior to Socrates' implementation of it, by Aristotle is incorrect.  Aristotle was younger than Socrates and was a student of Socrates' student Plato.  Aristotle was born in 384 BC, which was after Socrates was executed by drinking hemlock in 399 BC.

Socratic Method in "All about Law School"