Socratic

-al , sō-krat′ik, -al, adj. pertaining to So crates , a celebrated Greek philosopher (469-399 B.C. ), to his philosophy, or to his manner of teaching, which was an art of inducing his interlocutors to discover their own ignorance and need of knowledge by means of a series of simple questions.— adv. Socrat′ically .— ns. Soc′ratism , the philosophy of So crates ; Soc′ratist , a disciple of So crates .