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e responses to these contradict the answer to the original question, which is then
rejected. The repetition of this pattern across the dialogues is significant and
many scholars have been tempted by the idea that Plato ascribes a single
philosophical method to Socrates. The name for this method is the Socratic elenchus
and commentators in the last century invested considerable energy in its
examination 13
There are broadly two patterns of response to the problem of the elenchus. Some
commentators, such as Vlastos himself, think
15rates demonstrates the falsity of any one proposition, their position is
consistent with the possibility that Socrates succeeds in refuting his
interlocutors� claims to possess knowledge
16
13 According to Vlastos, Socrates concludes ��P� when he�s only entitled to infer
�(Q & R) � �P�
y he has knowledge in the strong sense while professing to have knowledge in the
weak sense. 23
hucutors in order to persuade them of their ignorance (if they are revealed not to
be wise) or to learn from them (if they are revealed to be wise) can be identifi ed
as instances of Socrates� distinctive practice. So identifi ed, this distinctive
Socratic practice is the Snswers, q , r , and s to a series of other Socratic
questions. (I will refer to these answers as the premises of the elenchos .)
Third, (3) Socrates goes on to show that these answers entail the negation of the
original answer. Thus, (4) the conjunction p & q & r & s is false.
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