Aristotle, Hermagoras, and The Seven Circumstances

What value can humans bring when AI can answer things so quickly? How can thinkers such as Aristotle, who lived on the planet thousands of years before computers, contribute to how we navigate our technological age? Well, the truth is that it is just this ancient wisdom that we need if we are going to succeed. As Ginni Rommetty, the former Executive Chairman of IBM, said,

“The key to success with AI is not just having the right data, but also asking the right questions.”

Engineering my way into philosophy

I majored in Civil Engineering at Edinburgh University for my four years there. But when I arrived, due to my grades, I was offered direct entry into the second year. These grades were much more of a reflection upon my excellent teachers than upon me (especially when it came to my Maths grade, which was frankly miraculous!) But I saw an opportunity presented by this offer and therefore immediately leapt at it.

I went into the office of my Director of Studies and duly proposed that instead of starting directly in the second year of engineering, I should study Ancient History and Archaeology instead. After all, if I did not need to do the first year of engineering, surely I was free to study other things? It was not a question that he was expecting. My request was so unusual that he did not really know what to say. The moment of confusion created by my question was just enough for me to persuade him that this subject swap was not just possible, but was actually a really good idea to broaden my education.

I have always loved history, and at that time, I was getting increasingly interested in philosophy too. Therefore, I was excited about getting the chance to delve into the thinking arising from the ancient world, and Greece in particular. After all, the system of thought born in Greece was foundational to the development of culture in Europe and the West.

Socrates: The Grandaddy of philosophy

When studying European ancient history there are some larger than life characters that you cannot get around. Visionaries such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar reshaped the physical and political landscape. Others, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, redefined the conceptual and intellectual environment.

Socrates was immortalised in the idealistic writings of Plato (The Dialogues) and has become the hero and father of Western Philosophy.  His thinking contributed to the fields of ethics, logic, and pedagogy (teaching), to name but a few. I quickly fell in love with Socrates’ simple yet profound approach to life, and particularly his predilection for questions.

“I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.” – Socrates

The Socratic Method

Socrates was most famous for being inquisitive.  Most notably, he developed the elenchus, the Socratic method, a technique that focuses on stimulating critical thinking. Central to the methodology is the idea of refining ideas to get closer to the absolute truth. This involves working towards stating an idea (thesis) clearly, challenging assumptions, and clarifying terminology. 

The method is now primarily linked with rhetoric and for use in debates between individuals holding opposing viewpoints.  But it was not just about setting out an argument; learning to ask the right questionswas key to its effectiveness.

The Socratic method is often used as a ‘negative’ question technique. In other words, it seeks to undermine or disprove an opposing hypothesis.  When the person being questioned has to admit their thinking is flawed, it exposes their wrong assumption and can often embarrass them.  Big-shot lawyers in Hollywood courtroom dramas demonstrate the extreme of this when played out dramatically (think A Few Good Men or 12 Angry Men).

Socrates happily asked questions of just about anything and anybody. Socrates’ subtle yet ironic questions often revealed other people’s ignorance.  This was helpful in unpicking wrong assumptions, but he became known as the ‘Gadfly’ for his persistent interrogation.  Unfortunately, his questions eventually goaded so many prominent Athenians that he was sentenced to death.

Thus, he proved that asking effective questions does not necessarily make you popular. One must be careful not to make people feel or appear stupid. Remember also, people hold dearly to certain assumptions or beliefs. Therefore, it is important to apply emotional intelligence when using this methodology.

Aristotle, Hermagoras, and the Seven Circumstances

The Socratic method is a powerful technique, but there are situations where one does not start with a hypothesis. Later philosophers can help us here. Others looked into more open methods of asking questions that went beyond debate and rather explored more general inquiry.

Aristotle is attributed with being the first person to define the Septem Circumstantiae. These “Seven Circumstances” are in Book 3 of his Nicomachean Ethics. These are the core seven questions that are necessary to understand and explain a situation. 

Hermagoras of Temnos (as mentioned by Cicero) clarified these seven circumstances for use in rhetoric and storytelling.  He listed them as: quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis.  These translate as who, what, when, where, why, in what way, and by what means. Cicero went on to use a similar system, which is the basis of what we know today as ‘the 5Ws’ of what, where, when, who, why (and how).

More recently, journalist and poet Rudyard Kipling immortalised the concept of the 5Ws when he wrote,

“I keep six honest serving-men, (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who.”

The Five Ws (and an H)

Journalists in the twentieth century adopted the Five Ws as an interrogative style. It is an approach that is useful for getting the facts of a story. Police officers, researchers, crisis and incident managers, and others have used the same technique. For example, I was taught to use this method when I trained as a Bomb Disposal Officer. In this context, the 5Ws became more specifically:

• Who is it about (who is involved)?
• What happened (what’s the story)?
• When did it take place?
• Where did it take place?
• How did it happen?
• Why did it happen?

The idea behind this interrogative technique is to ask open questions. Therefore, as far as possible, one can build up an unbiased or uninfluenced statement of the facts. The principle of using open questions, like those captured in the 5Ws, is that you cannot answer any of them with just a “yes” or a “no”. An open question invites elaboration and the divulgence of more facts.

When you are trying to look at something holistically and understand a situation, it is important to get information (not just the answers you want). Therefore, a framework such as the 5Ws can help to give a framework to our thinking, improve our planning, problem-solving and decision-making.

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Beyond the 5Ws question technique

The 5Ws approach is specifically tailored towards information gathering about a past event. It is good at gaining situational awareness in the now.

But if we are trying to think forward, to plan and make decisions, we need to go further. My experience has shown that by adding another common interrogative word, that of which, to the 5Ws and an H. The “Which?” question helps us to consider the concept of ‘selection’.  This helps us to think about options and risks.

Seven questions to unlock understanding of the world

So, we find that we go almost full circle and end up with seven basic questions that reflect those asked by Aristotle and Hermagoras over 2000 years ago; a list comprised of the seven most used interrogatives of the English language: what, where, when, who, why, how, and which. 

Therefore, if you want a simple way to improve your understanding of a situation or to think through a decision, you cannot do much better than coming back to these fundamental philosophical questions. Use the seven interrogative words to formulate open questions and therefore elicit the information you need. 

It just goes to show that, as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun!”