Abstract

Good teaching requires not only an acute sensitivity to one’s students but also a kind of flexibility enabling one to respond appropriately in concrete situations. This paper analyzes the pedagogical strategy that Socrates employs with Callicles and Theaetetus, arguing that Socrates exhibits the kind of flexibility required of a good teacher. In articulating the pedagogical flexibility that Socrates's exhibits, the paper also provides an overview of the divided line, the mathematical curriculum that Socrates proposes in the “Republic,” and a discussion of how mathematical education relates to philosophy.