Soc ‧ ra ‧ tes /ˈsɒkrətiːz $ ˈsɑːk-/ BrE AmE
(470–399 BC) a Greek ↑ philosopher from Athens, who was the teacher of ↑ Plato and whose ideas are known from Plato’s writings. He is known for encouraging people to think carefully about ideas before accepting them and for developing a method of examining ideas according to a system of questions and answers in order to find out the truth. This is known as the Socratic method or ↑ dialectic . The Greek authorities disapproved of his ideas and methods, and said he was a bad influence on young people. They forced him to kill himself by drinking ↑ hemlock , a powerful poison.
—Socratic /səˈkrætɪk/ adjective