Socratic Interview

 Welcome back to my blog!

I'm back with another Action Project, which is a project that ropes together a lot of stuff that you've learned in the past few weeks. Today I'm back with a Socratic Dialogue, which includes a hugely debatable topic that we discuss and ask a bunch of questions about it. My classmate and I, AG (https://aaggcelabschool.blogspot.com/) did our Socratic dialogue together. Our question was about one of our favorite things, video games. "Does playing harsh video games (ex: GTAV, DOOM, Mortal Kombat) give people the tendency to be more violent/aggressive?" I played the more ignorant character, she played the informational character. I'll include our script after attaching the video below. Anyways, this action project is based on something called the Socratic method. A Socratic method is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between two or more people that is based on asking and answering questions. My classmate and I did this here. 

Script: 

Wolf: AHHHhhhHH! *throws controller on the floor, rage quitting the game*

Karen: *walk in room with angry face* What are you doing? That controller was expensive! All these darn video games making people act out...

Wolf: Karen, it’s not the video games! 

Karen: What else could it be?

Wolf: Sit down, Karen. Let's use an analogy. Do you believe that only snow gives people hyperthermia?

Karen: No Wolf, I do not. 

Wolf: Do you agree that the cause of hypothermia has many factors?

Karen: Of course. Snow is not the only cause of hypothermia.

Wolf: Yes so you agree it’s only one factor? 

Karen: I would say so, yes.

Wolf: So, if snow doesn’t cause hypothermia, can you see how this applies to videogames and violence? 

Karen: No, no, give me more. 

Wolf: Alright then Karen, let's use the terrible example of the El Paso Walmart shooting, do you know about this?

Karen: No, I’m not familiar with the El Paso Walmart shooting. 

Wolf: It was a terrible incident where 22 people were shot and the gunman quoted video game soldiers. Many politicians blamed it on video games, and Walmart even started removing violent video game displays in their stores, but guess what?

Karen: What?

Wolf: It was later found out in his interview his true motive was racism against latinos, so for this example, the video games would just be the snow for my hypothermia analogy earlier.

Karen: That’s just one example!

Wolf:  But this is the same case for many other violent crimes involving video games! Video games could be a much smaller factor thrown in with many others like trauma, racism, and abuse! There is no actual evidence that links video games to violence, like mass shootings. Video games don’t make people act out, people do.

Karen: That makes no sense!

Wolf: Let me put this into Karen terms. Just because they got your order wrong, doesn’t mean that it was the managers fault. The same way just because one person acts violent does not mean it is the video games that they choose to play. 

Karen: That’s stupid! It’s the video games, always about killing people and hookers!

Wolf: That’s not true, there are non-violent games like Animal Crossing where you can farm and build your own island!

Karen: Those games aren’t that popular nowadays, are they? I always see violent games making the headlines! That influences our children, their innocent minds! 

Wolf: Of course they are popular! It's just some people choose to put more attention on violent ones because when something bad happens it's easier to blame them, instead of the original source, which is the person or the environment around them, or who they’ve grown up with. 

Karen: So what you’re saying is that video games don’t make people directly violent? And instead it could be multiple other factors in the person's life that’s causing such preposterous attitudes?

Wolf: That’s exactly what I’m saying! I’m glad you’re picking up what I’m talking about. Also, instead of video games being the cause of peoples’ violent thoughts, it could prevent them. You know in Grand Theft Auto 5, you can run people over with your cars? Rather people do that in a video game than in real life, right? 

Karen: Alright alright, I understand now. Thanks for clearing this issue up.

Wolf:  Good, now I’ll get back to my game! I’m glad you learned something.