Socrates turning in grave, thanks to Leonen?

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen said law schools should review the Socratic method of teaching, arguing that it can foster subservience to legal doctrine rather than develop independent critical thinking.

“Sometimes the Socratic method does not really work,” Leonen said during his public interview with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for the position of chief justice on Thursday, 22 October.

“The Socratic method is really inculcating the student to be subservient to a doctrine and not creating more critical minds. So that is one concept that I think we need to review,” he added.

The Socratic method is a teaching approach that uses questions and answers to challenge assumptions, test arguments and deepen understanding.

Rather than simply delivering information, teachers ask students to defend their positions, examine contradictions and reason through problems. Law schools use it to sharpen legal analysis, argumentation and critical thinking.

DAILY TRIBUNE is reaching out to Leonen to fully explain why the Socratic method can hinder the development of critical thinking, as he posited, contrary to the traditional appreciation of the methodology.

Caguioa on deck

Leonen was interviewed by Justice Secretary Frederick Vida, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Catral Mendoza, lawyer Nesauro Firme, retired Court of Tax Appeals Associate Justice Erlinda Piñera, and lawyer Jose Mejia.

The JBC concluded its interview with Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa on Thursday as part of the selection process for the next chief justice ahead of the compulsory retirement of Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo on 6 November.

Caguioa emphasized the importance of leading by example at all levels of the judiciary and promoting transparency to address public doubts.

“We have to have the courage to simply do what is right,” he said.

Caguioa was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1986 after placing 15th in the 1985 Bar examinations. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court in January 2016, he served as justice secretary and chief presidential legal counsel under the Aquino administration.

He also has more than two decades of experience in litigation and arbitration.

Caguioa currently chairs the Sub-Committee on Integrated Bar of the Philippines Oversight and serves as a member of the Sub-Committee for the Revision of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure.