What Makes a True Friend? A Socratic Dialogue

In our second Humanities class for my Sophomore year, we are learning about Socrates. This class is called Forbidden Books. We started off Unit 1 by learning about censorship. We then transitioned into learning about Socrates. I am not sure why or how this has to do with our learning about censorship of books, but I did enjoy learning about Socrates some more. We took an FE to Women and Children First which is a feminist bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. We talked with the co-founder about the history and the censorship of books. We then had an opportunity to look around the bookstore to see what kinds of books they carried. For this Action Project, we had the opportunity to pair up with someone from the class. If we chose to pair up with someone from the class, we had to choose the same topic. I paired up with KRM, and we chose to discuss the theme "What makes a true friend?" We had to write a script with a Socratic Dialogue about out topic. We wrote the script together and rehearsed the dialogue a few times. We then filmed it. We actually got the whole video in one take. I liked this project. I enjoyed working with one of my best friends on a project together. I enjoyed collaborating because it is different from my usual work. Check out KRM's blog here!
A Socratic Dialogue CM & KM from CM on Vimeo.

In class, we read The Apology. This was the transcript of Socrates when he was in court in Athens. Socrates questions Meletus. In our Socratic dialogue, We will take the roles of Socrates and Meletus.


What do You Think a True Friend Does?

What makes a true friend?

Character #1 Socrates - CM

Character #2 Meletus - KRM

CM: Hello Khaliya, how are you today?

KM: Hey, Claire! I’m good, how are you? OMG, let me tell you how much of a good person my best friend is!! He did this amazing thing for me today!

CM: What did he do? Why do you believe that you are true friends?

KRM: He gave me a $500 gift card to Akira because he knows how much I love to shop for clothes. And he knows that Akira is my favorite clothing store.

CM: Is that why you love him so much? Because he gave you something? Something that he knows that you like? That just seems like he is trying to please you with material things.

KRM: Because that's what friends do for other friends. Since he knew that I love Akira and love Akira clothing he decided to get me a gift card with money on it so that I don’t have to spend all of my money. I can't believe you don’t think we are true friends.

CM: I don’t doubt that you are true friends. You seem to really enjoy each other's company, I just wonder if this Is this really what you think friends do for each other? Just give each other things so they can think they are true friends?

KRM: Of course this is what I think friends do for each other. Friends make each other happy. It doesn't matter how they do it, as long as you are happy with each other, you are true friends. What do you know about friends anyway?

CM: I know little about being a true friend. This is just what I think. A true friend doesn't just give. What does he do besides give you gifts and money? Do you and your friend spend a lot of time together?

KRM: Well, you know my best friend and I do spend time together, but not that much. I would like it if we were able to spend more time together. We are together whenever we can be, so, therefore, we are there for each other.

CM: So, you think that if you spend time together, you are there for each other? Why do you think that spending lots of time together means you are there for each other? I would like to think that being there for each means more than a physical presence. Being there for each other is being there when the other is in need.

KRM: Well, we never talk about that kind of stuff. We always hang out when we are happy, we never want to talk about our true feelings. In fact, I can think of a few times when I needed to talk to somebody and he seemed uncomfortable. Maybe because we never talk about our true feelings.

CM: This is what I mean. You may really enjoy each other’s company, and you might give each other material things, but if you don't talk about your feelings, he will never be there for you. It’s not his fault. You both don’t talk to each other about real issues, so neither of you know when each other are in need. Does that sound like true friendship to you?

KRM: Man, I guess you’re right. I have never thought of our relationship in this way before. We never talk about the things that matter. I now think a true friend is someone who cares and someone you can talk to when you need someone. Maybe we are true friends!

In the end, I really enjoyed this project. I liked collaborating with my friend. I don't usually work with other people, but I enjoy it because it gives a different feel from my usual work. I think the most challenging part of this project was writing up the script. We had to fit enough questions in and make sure everything flowed and made sense. I am proud of how the video came out because we got it in one take. I think the script turned out well and our dialogue answered the question. I am looking forward to the next projects for this class.