You hold beliefs you have never examined
They came with your upbringing and stayed.
Courses
See what you would learn
Use the Socratic method on your own beliefs and in conversation.
A course on the oldest method of clear thinking. It covers what Socrates was actually doing, how to question a belief until you find what holds it up, and how to do it with other people without being unbearable.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to think and ask questions the way Socrates did. Teach me the method, what it is for, and how to use it on my own beliefs and in conversations without being insufferable.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Philosophy
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Do you want this for your own thinking, for teaching, or for conversations?
- Have you read any Plato, or only heard of the method?
- Is there a belief of yours you would like to examine?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
Your questions feel like attacks
People get defensive when you probe.
You want to think more clearly
And suspect asking better questions is where it starts.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Who Socrates was
The man, the trial and the method, in plain terms.
What a definition hides
Asking what a word means until the confidence runs out.
Questioning yourself
Turning the method on a belief you hold.
The elenchus
Following an answer to its consequences and back.
With other people
Questioning that opens rather than corners.
Living with not knowing
What Socrates meant by wisdom, and why it is uncomfortable.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Understand the method
Know what Socratic questioning is for and how it works.
Examine your own beliefs
Question what you think until you find the foundations, or their absence.
Question others well
Use it in conversation with curiosity, not as a weapon.
Ideas this course corrects
The Socratic method is about winning debates
It is about discovering what you do not know. Socrates lost, in every sense that matters, on purpose.
Questioning everything leads nowhere
It leads to beliefs you can actually defend, and the humility about the rest.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on the oldest method of clear thinking. It covers what Socrates was actually doing, how to question a belief until you find what holds it up, and how to do it with other people without being unbearable. It sits under Philosophy in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to think and ask questions the way Socrates did. Teach me the method, what it is for, and how to use it on my own beliefs and in conversations without being insufferable.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.