350+ Examples of Good Socratic Questions

In this article you can read about Socratic questions. And you will find more than 350 examples of Socratic questions.

 Socrates

For many people, (western) philosophy begins with the philosopher Socrates. Socrates lived from around 470 to 399 BC and is particularly known for his questioning techniques.

If there is someone who understood the art of asking questions, it was Socrates.

Socratic questions: well known examples

Socrates asked various questions to his bystanders. You can find these questions in The Dialogues as described by the ancient philosopher Plato.

For instance:

• What is courage (Laches)
• What is knowledge? (Theaetetus)
• What is self-control? (Charmides)
• What is love? (Symposium)
• What is art? (Ion)
• What is temperance? (Euthyphro)
• What is truth? (Gorgias)
• What is beauty? (Hippias Major)
• What is excellence? (Meno)
• What is justice? (Gorgias, Republic)

What are Socratic questions?

What is immediately striking about these questions is the form of the question. Unlike modern Socratic questions, you can reduce the original questions from Socrates to "What is ..." questions.

With this knowledge in mind, it is fairly easy to think up and formulate classic Socratic questions yourself. You start with "What is ..." and put a term behind it.

In particular, positive values ​​and virtues lend themselves well for socratic questions. In such a case you formulate a question asking for a definition. Do you find this difficult? Here is our list with example questions.

A list of Socratic questions

What Is Ability?
What Is Accessibility?
What Is Accuracy?
What Is Acquittal?
What Is Activity?
What Is Acuteness?
What Is Adventurous?
What Is Aesthetic?
What Is Affability?
What Is Affection?
What Is Affordability?
What Is Alacrity?
What Is Amenity?
What Is Anonymity?
What Is Appearance?
What Is Appetency?
What Is Appreciative?
What Is Approval?
What Is Artisticity?
What Is Assertiveness?
What Is Assiduousness?
What Is Attachment?
What Is Attainment?
What Is Attention?
What Is Authenticity?
What Is Autonomy?
What Is Availability?
What Is Balance?
What Is Beauty?
What Is Beneficence?
What Is Benevolence?
What Is Boldness?
What Is Bravery?
What Is Brightness?
What Is Candidness?
What Is Capability?
What Is Capacity?
What Is Care?
What Is Carefulness?
What Is Caution?
What Is Celebrity?
What Is Certainty?
What Is Changeability?
What Is Character?
What Is Charity?
What Is Charm?
What Is Chastity?
What Is Cheerfulness?
What Is Citizenship?
What Is Civilization?
What Is Class?
What Is Clearness?
What Is Cleverness?
What Is Collaboration?
What Is Comeliness?
What Is Communality?
What Is Companionship?
What Is Competence?
What Is Competition?
What Is Concentration?
What Is Concern?
What Is Conciseness?
What Is Concurrency?
What Is Confidence?
What Is Confidentiality?
What Is Conjunction?
What Is Connectedness?
What Is Conscience?
What Is Consensus?
What Is Consideration?
What Is Constancy?
What Is Constitutionality?
What Is Contributory?
What Is Control?
What Is Co-operation?
What Is Correctness?
What Is Courage?
What Is Courtesy?
What Is Craftsmanship?
What Is Creativity?
What Is Credibility?
What Is Cupidity?
What Is Curiosity?
What Is Decency?
What Is Decisiveness?
What Is Dedication?
What Is Deepness?
What Is Defiance?
What Is Delicacy?
What Is Demission?
What Is Democracy?
What Is Depth?
What Is Determination?
What Is Dexterity?
What Is Dignity?
What Is Diplomacy?
What Is Directness?
What Is Dismissal?
What Is Dismission?
What Is Distinction?
What Is Diversification?
What Is Docility?
What Is Dominion?
What Is Durability?
What Is Durableness?
What Is Dynamism?
What Is Eagerness?
What Is Education?
What Is Effectiveness?
What Is Efficiency?
What Is Effort?
What Is Elegance?
What Is Empathy?
What Is Empowerment?
What Is Enchantment?
What Is Energetic?
What Is Engagement?
What Is Entertainment?
What Is Enthusiasm?
What Is Entrepreneurship?
What Is Equality?
What Is Equivalence?
What Is Exactness?
What Is Excellence?
What Is Expand?
What Is Expediency?
What Is Experience?
What Is Expertise?
What Is Expertness?
What Is Expressiveness?
What Is Exuberance?
What Is Fairness?
What Is Faith?
What Is Faithfulness?
What Is Fame?
What Is Finality?
What Is Finery?
What Is Firmness?
What Is Fixedness?
What Is Flexibility?
What Is Forgiveness?
What Is Fortitude?
What Is Freedom?
What Is Friendliness?
What Is Friendship?
What Is Fun?
What Is Gaiety?
What Is Generosity?
What Is Genius?
What Is Gentleness?
What Is Glory?
What Is Godliness?
What Is Goodness?
What Is Grace?
What Is Gracefulness?
What Is Greatness?
What Is Grimness?
What Is Happiness?
What Is Hardness?
What Is Harmony?
What Is Health?
What Is Helpfulness?
What Is Hierarchy?
What Is Honesty?
What Is Honour?
What Is Hope?
What Is Hospitality?
What Is Human-Dignity?
What Is Humanity?
What Is Humaneness?
What Is Humility?
What Is Humor?
What Is Idealism?
What Is Ignorance?
What Is Impartiality?
What Is Imperishability?
What Is Improvidence?
What Is Independence?
What Is Individuality?
What Is Industriousness?
What Is Infiltrating?
What Is Informal?
What Is Innocence?
What Is Innovativeness?
What Is Intelligence?
What Is Integrity?
What Is Intensity?
What Is Involvement?
What Is Joy?
What Is Kindliness?
What Is Kindness?
What Is Knowledge?
What Is Light-What Is heartedness?
What Is Longevity?
What Is Lordship?
What Is Love?
What Is Loveliness?
What Is Lowliness?
What Is Loyalty?
What Is Lucidity?
What Is Lust?
What Is Magnanimity?
What Is Moderation?
What Is Modesty?
What Is Multiformity?
What Is Multiplicity?
What Is Munificence?
What Is Name?
What Is Neatness?
What Is Obedience?
What Is Obligingness?
What Is Open-mindedness?
What Is Openness?
What Is Optimism?
What Is Orderliness?
What Is Pamper?
What Is Panache?
What Is Passion?
What Is Passivity?
What Is Patience?
What Is Patriotism?
What Is Peace?
What Is Perkiness?
What Is Permanence?
What Is Permanency?
What Is Permissiveness?
What Is Perseverance?
What Is Perspicacity?
What Is Piety?
What Is Pithiness?
What Is Pleasure?
What Is Politeness?
What Is Politesse?
What Is Positivity?
What Is Possession?
What Is Power?
What Is Pragmatism?
What Is Praise?
What Is Preparedness?
What Is Presence?
What Is Privacy?
What Is Proactivity?
What Is Productivity?
What Is Professionalism?
What Is Proficiency?
What Is Progressiveness?
What Is Prudence?
What Is Public-responsibility?
What Is Punctuality?
What Is Quality?
What Is Realism?
What Is Reason?
What Is Receptivity?
What Is Recognition?
What Is Refinement?
What Is Reign?
What Is Relativism?
What Is Relaxation?
What Is Release?
What Is Reliability?
What Is Reputation?
What Is Resignation?
What Is Resilience?
What Is Respect?
What Is Responsibility?
What Is Restraint?
What Is Reverence?
What Is Rivalry?
What Is Robustness?
What Is Rule?
What Is Sagacity?
What Is Satisfaction?
What Is Scantiness?
What Is Seal?
What Is Secrecy?
What Is Security?
What Is Self-assurance?
What Is Self-being?
What Is Self-care?
What Is Self-control?
What Is Self-dependence?
What Is Self-determination?
What Is Self-realization?
What Is Self-reliance?
What Is Sensitivity?
What Is Sensuality?
What Is Seriousness?
What Is Service?
What Is Severity?
What Is Sharpness?
What Is Simplicity?
What Is Sincerity?
What Is Skill?
What Is Slyness?
What Is Sober?
What Is Soberness?
What Is Sociability?
What Is Softness?
What Is Solidarity?
What Is Soundness?
What Is Speed?
What Is Splendor?
What Is Spontaneity?
What Is Sportsmanship?
What Is Stability?
What Is Steadfastness?
What Is Steadiness?
What Is Stewardship?
What Is Stoutness?
What Is Strength?
What Is Structure?
What Is Sturdiness?
What Is Stylishness?
What Is Suavity?
What Is Subtlety?
What Is Supremacy?
What Is Surprise?
What Is Surprisingly?
What Is Sympathy?
What Is Synergy?
What Is Tactful?
What Is Temperance?
What Is Tenacity?
What Is Thankfulness?
What Is Thoroughness?
What Is Thoughtfulness?
What Is Thrift?
What Is Tidiness?
What Is Timelessness?
What Is Tolerance?
What Is Toughness?
What Is Tranquillity?
What Is Transparency?
What Is Trimness?
What Is Unanimity?
What Is Understanding
What Is Uniformity?
What Is Universality?
What Is Unselfishness?
What Is Urbanity?
What Is Usefulness?
What Is Utility?
What Is Variegation?
What Is Variety?
What Is Versatility?
What Is Vigour?
What Is Virtue?
What Is Virtuosity?
What Is Voluptuousness?
What Is Vulnerability?
What Is Wariness?
What Is Willingness?
What Is Wisdom?
What Is Wittiness?
What Is Wonder?