elenchus
noun/ɪˈlɛŋ.kəs/
Etymology From Latin elenchus, from Ancient Greek ἔλεγχος (élenkhos, “refutation, scrutiny, control”). Doublet of elench.
1
Rhetoric A technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.
- The elenchus begins when an interlocutor makes some moral claim that Socrates wishes to examine. The argument then proceeds from premisses that express certain of the interlocutor’s other beliefs to a conclusion that contradicts the original moral claim under scrutiny.1991, Thomas c. Brickhouse, Nicholas D. Smith, “Socrates’ Elenctic Mission”, in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, volume IX, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 131–132:
- Synonyms
- Socratic method
- Derived terms
- elenchize
- Related terms
- elenctic