Socrates: Shaping Minds and Morals in Modern Education
May 19, 2024
By Héctor Navedo, Ed.D.
A professional reflection on questioning, intellectual humility, and ethical responsibility.
Questioning as an educational practice
Socrates offers a starting point for reflection on questioning, intellectual humility and ethical responsibility. Here I distinguish a documented passage in Plato from my own proposals for contemporary educational leadership.
Plato’s portrayal of intellectual midwifery
In Plato’s Theaetetus (149a–151d), Socrates compares questioning to midwifery: he helps interlocutors examine their ideas rather than presenting himself as the source of ready-made wisdom. This is Plato’s literary portrayal, not a verbatim record of every practice of the historical Socrates.
Practical applications and limits
For educational leaders, I propose using disciplined questions to clarify assumptions, request reasons and consider alternatives. This should be done respectfully; questioning is not a license to humiliate students or staff. These are practical recommendations, not a claim that a single method guarantees improved learning.
Peter Boghossian’s 2012 article examines perplexity, humiliation and shame in Socratic pedagogy. That discussion is relevant to the ethical limits of questioning; it should not be treated as proof that a particular method improves outcomes across schools or professional programs.
I propose combining opportunities for dialogue with clear explanations, appropriate guidance and attention to participants’ needs. Leaders can ask what evidence supports a position, which assumptions remain unexamined and what alternatives deserve consideration. The purpose should be shared inquiry rather than demonstrating authority through another person’s discomfort.
Conclusion
Socratic questioning invites us to reflect on how we seek reasons and examine our own assumptions. I regard that discipline as valuable for educational leadership when it is practiced with care and respect. Its usefulness in a particular setting should be evaluated rather than assumed.
Updated October 27, 2026.