W.E.B. DuBois and Socratic Questioning

Abstract

Taking its cue from W.E.B. DuBois’s reference to Socrates in The Souls of Black Folk, the essay investigates points of contact and contrast between DuBois and Socrates on the relationship of philosophy to politics and particularly on the nature of liberal education. The hope is that the comparison will contribute in some small measure to a re-assessment of these two thinkers and of the nature of education.