Descartes’ Socratic Method

Abstract

Descartes considered himself as an originator of the method of methodical doubting, but, at the same time, he viewed his ideas as most ancient of all. In fact, he fairly closely followed in the footsteps of Socrates and his maieutic method of extracting the truth from an interlocutor in two phases: the elenctic method to demolish the interlocutor’s convictions and then coaxing the truth from him. Descartes’ methodical doubt is but a version of the elenctic method. Descartes also shares with Socrates the conviction of the existence of truth independent of the cognitive subject, which assured the possibility of successful conclusion of methodical doubting as well as the maieutic method.