This is why, rather than slapping people in the face with a mountain of research, I try to ask them questions that lead them to the conclusion I want them to reach. Oh we discuss along the way, but you get a lot less of the black and white thinking bold statements that someone entrenched in their beliefs tends to make

[–] rwhitisissle@lemmy.ml 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

This is just the Socratic method. It's like...the oldest formal rhetorical strategy.

[–] doublejay1999@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Shhhh don’t burst his bubble.

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

-Descartes or some shit

[–] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

A stitch in time saves nine.

-Pliny the elder

[–] abbenm@lemmy.ml 0 points 9 months ago

I don't think so? The Socratic method wasn't necessarily a strategy intended to carefully persuade someone by bypassing psychological blockers. If anything, Socrates' counterparts were often antagonized and angered by his questions because he exposed contradictions.

I think the ethos behind it was that Socrates presumed he knew nothing, other people seemed like they knew things, so he asked them what they knew, since others were so bold as to make knowledge claims.

[–] undercrust@lemmy.ca 7 points 10 months ago

Ahh, after all this time, the Socratic Method still reigns

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

The research backs up your statement. Especially if you yourself are genuinely interested in the conversation, and also willing to update your own thinking, along with helping get everyone in the conversation to start understanding the real answers.

In case you haven't listened to it, the You Are Not So Smart podcast covers the topic of how to get people to change on a pretty regular basis. It's a great podcast that talks a lot about conspiracies, misinformation, and how to combat them.

https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/

My favorite part of this podcast is that if you listen to it from the start (nearly 300 episodes at this point), you can hear him slowly become very jaded and pessimistic, but then as the podcast goes on, he starts turning around his opinion and gets exited and optimistic about all the progress that is made. It's a really great podcast and makes me excited for the future.