Socratic irony is a rhetorical device where one person pretends to be ignorant about an issue in order to get the other person to explain it. This allows the first person to weaken the argument and point out flaws in the opponent’s position.
Socratic irony is a particular device often used in rhetoric in which one person pretends to be ignorant about an issue in order to get the other person to explain it. In a debate or discussion, for example, two people may have different views on a particular topic. One of the two participants can then pretend not to understand an important aspect of the topic and ask the other person to explain it. While the other person explains it, the first participant then comments on the weaknesses inherent in the other person’s argument and used Socratic irony to make him reveal them.
In general, the term “irony” typically refers to an idea where something appears to mean one thing but actually means another. Verbal irony, for example, is typically an expression in which someone says something while meaning the opposite of that thing. If one person talks to someone else about a hated rival, he may wryly say, “Oh, he’s my best friend.” While Socratic irony refers to a similarly deceptive concept, its purpose is to disarm an opponent in an argument or debate to cause him to damage his own position.
The most basic use of Socratic irony takes the form of a person in an argument pretending to be ignorant of a particular aspect of the argument. One of the most important aspects of this method is that ignorance is not real; the person using Socratic irony should actually know a lot about the subject. By pretending not to, however, the opponent in an argument or debate can gain a false sense of confidence. As the first person pretends to be ignorant of the subject, she asks the other person to explain it to her.
When the second person in the debate starts explaining the issue that the first pretended to ignore, then the first person can start to weaken the argument. Socratic irony allows someone to step back from an argument or subject, especially one that has become emotional or irrational, and start at the foundations of an issue. Someone who advocates gun control, for example, might pretend not to fully understand the laws or legal precedents that have been used to establish any form of gun control in their country. When the other person begins to discuss them, the person using Socratic irony may then point out flaws in those statutes or otherwise point to how various cases were later changed or nullified by other laws.
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