Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon

Statements of Method and Teaching: The Case of Socrates

In this paper, I ponder the question of whether Socrates follows a method of investigation — the method of hypothesis — which he advocates in Platos Phaedo. The evidence in the dialogue suggests that he does not follow the method, which raises additional questions: If he fails to do so, why does he articulate the method? Does his statement of method affect his actions or is it mainly forgotten? Although Socrates is a fictional character, his actions in the Phaedo suggests questions about the function of espoused methods in actual situations.

The Role of Interruption in Building Trust

In the article, we explore conditions under which people may allow their listening to be interrupted, that is, allow themselves to start listening for something they had not been trying to hear previously. We present empirical evidence for the conditions by analyzing an interview with a teacher who tells us how his listening was interrupted as he talked with students. We review excerpts from his discussion with them and argue that, because he allowed his listening to be interrupted, the teacher followed certain discussion‐leading patterns that helped the students to do likewise: they, like the teacher, started listening for something they had not been trying to hear previously, and, like the teacher, they heard and entertained perspectives that challenged their own. Hence, we maintain that, when following these patterns, the teacher helped to engender trust among the members of the group, where “trust” is defined as a relation between fellow truth seekers.