The Socratic Guide on My Side: The epistemic function of learning and our need for guides

In this essay, the author argues that no person can just step into self-directed learning without a mentor who guides students into learning. Learning is an unending relational process, based on trust, that begins in wonder. The chapter examines arguments from Plato, Polanyi, Pieper, and others who contend that learning is other-centered rather than self-directed, and as such, learning demands the need for guides—either as individuals, books, or sets of “guiding questions” that push us to grasp a larger, systemic view of the world.