A Socratic dialogue

We are in the first unit of our Forbidden Books course and so far it's pretty interesting. Forbidden Books is a class where we talk about pieces of literature that get completely banned or censored in some areas. The censorship of a book occurs when certain ideas or concepts in that book are detrimental or convey a negative connotation. Books are usually censored for religious purposes or because they imply a bad message about governments and etc.

In preparation for this particular action project, we studied Socrates and his method of questioning, formally known as Socratic dialogue. Socrates was a Greek philosopher during the B.C.E who had a lasting impact on western civilization as he had a character which deviated from general thought. He was seen as a philosophical activist that set a standard for questioning. His method of questioning, the Socratic method, was considered dangerous because it encouraged doubt. It encouraged people to question strong opinions or arguments with little to no knowledge of the topic itself.

For this particular project we were tasked with using this "dangerous" method of dialogue, to force a person to change their opinion on a topic that is brought up. The video is based around the question, Does the school system affect students' mental and physical health negatively, as well as, depriving them of sleep? As you will see in the video below, I debunk my partner's original theory that it's not school making him tired, through a series of questions that force him to change his opinion.

Please enjoy our video!!

JH/CH, Socratic dialogue, 2020