By Robert J. Rhee
What can an eminent mathematician teach law professors? A
good deal—if we just ignore the math.
The Socratic method, once the staple of legal teaching, is
declining in popularity and use. The reasons are many, but
they do not occupy our thoughts here. The decline in the use
of the Socratic method is unfortunate because a dialogue between
teacher and student is the essence of teaching and learning.
The Socratic method is traditionally perceived as a teaching
tool. But it is more than just a teaching tool. This
Article shows that, once learned, it can be a concrete analytic
tool for the student. In other words, it is an end unto
itself rather than merely a means.
Many years ago, the mathematician George Pólya showed
generations of math teachers and students that problem-solving can
be learned through the heuristic of simple questions that act to
stimulate curiosity and creativity. There is a connection
between the Socratic method and techniques of mathematical
problem-solving. This Article shows how Pólya’s heuristic has
application to the teaching of law, and thus, it casts the Socratic
method in a new pedagogical light.