Automated summary
Runs a structured five-layer Socratic examination of a belief, decision, or proposal, from clarifying key terms all the way to steel-manning the opposing view.
Strengths
- Layered progression (clarify, assumptions, evidence, implications, alternatives) so no stage of the inquiry gets skipped
- Hidden-assumption table pairing each assumption with the question that would test it
- Closes with a refined position, open questions, and a named key insight
- Explicitly non-adversarial stance: ask, don't tell, understanding over winning
Limitations
- Produces questions only — it does not answer them or verify any evidence itself
- The full five-layer template can feel long and heavy for a small, low-stakes decision
- Delivers value only if the user actually works through and answers the questions
Use it to pressure-test a design decision, proposal, or strongly held belief before committing to it.
Avoid it when you need a quick factual answer or a decision made for you, since it supplies questions rather than conclusions.
Security analysis
SafeThis is a pure reasoning/prompting skill with no declared tools and no executable content. It contains no shell commands, network calls, filesystem access, credential handling, or obfuscated payloads. The instructions only guide conversational questioning, so there is no meaningful execution risk.
No concerns found
How this analysis is madeExamples
Use socratic questioning to examine my belief that we should rewrite our backend in Rust.Apply the socratic skill to my claim that users abandon our app because onboarding is too long.Socratically question whether daily standups are actually improving our team's delivery speed.name: socratic description: Socratic questioning to examine beliefs, uncover assumptions, and develop deeper understanding. Use to challenge thinking, evaluate proposals, or teach without lecturing. user-invocable: true
Socratic Questioning
Guide discovery through systematic questioning, helping examine a belief, decision, or idea more deeply.
Instructions
Work through multiple levels of questioning to explore the topic. The goal isn't to prove the person wrong—it's to help them (or yourself) think more clearly and deeply.
Output Format
Topic/Belief: [What we're examining]
Starting Point
The Claim/Position [Restate the belief or idea being examined]
Layer 1: Clarifying the Claim
Questions
- What exactly do you mean by [key term]?
- Can you give a specific example of this?
- What would this look like in practice?
Reflections [What these questions reveal about the claim]
Layer 2: Probing Assumptions
Hidden Assumptions | Assumption | Question to Test It | |------------|-------------------| | [assumption 1] | "Is it always true that...?" | | [assumption 2] | "What would need to be true for...?" |
Questions
- What are you taking for granted here?
- Why do you think [X] leads to [Y]?
- What if [assumption] weren't true?
Layer 3: Examining Evidence
Questions
- What evidence supports this view?
- How do you know that [claim]?
- What would change your mind?
- Is there any evidence against this?
Layer 4: Exploring Implications
Questions
- If this is true, what else follows?
- What are the consequences of believing this?
- How does this apply to [edge case]?
- If we're wrong about this, what's the cost?
Layer 5: Alternative Perspectives
Questions
- What would someone who disagrees say?
- How would [specific person/role] view this?
- What's the strongest argument against?
Steel Man The best argument against this position:
[Strongest counterargument]
Synthesis
Refined Position After questioning, a more nuanced view might be:
[Refined statement]
Remaining Questions
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
Key Insight The most valuable thing this questioning revealed:
[Insight]
Guidelines
- Ask, don't tell
- Follow curiosity, not agenda
- "I don't know" is a valuable answer
- The goal is understanding, not winning
- Be patient—good questions take time to answer
$ARGUMENTS
From the file to a first result
The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.
View the source and supporting filesThis download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.
1. Download the file
Download SKILL.mdFrom the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.
Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.
mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/download' --output '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md'2. Check prerequisites
Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.
No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.
The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.
3. Load the skill
After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.
Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/socratic' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y' '.claude/skills/socratic'Cursor
test -f '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/socratic' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y' '.cursor/skills/socratic'Codex
test -f '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.agents/skills' && test ! -e '.agents/skills/socratic' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y' '.agents/skills/socratic'OpenSkills
OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.
Official OpenSkills installationopenskills install './.skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y'openskills read 'socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y'Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.
For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.
openskills syncManual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.
4. Try a first task
Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:
Read .skill-downloads/socratic-questioning-ms47vp7y/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.
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