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How did Socrates use questioning to examine people's beliefs?

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Painting by Joseph Aubert of Saint Thomas Aquinas seated with a book, wearing a halo and black and white robes, surrounded by ornate patterns in St. Stephens Church, Jerusalem. — Western philosophy Painting of scholastic philosopher St. Thomas of Aquinas by Joseph Aubert, 1900.

The Socratic method, also known as the elenchus, is a form of logical argumentation and inquiry used by Socrates to examine beliefs and reveal contradictions in an interlocutor's understanding.12

Rather than acting as a teacher, Socrates presented himself as an "ignorant inquirer". Through a process of Socratic irony, he would feign ignorance while asking a series of targeted questions. The goal was to lead the interlocutor to define a concept—such as "piety"—and then use supplementary questions to show that their initial answer was inconsistent with other premises they had accepted.13

By demonstrating that an individual's various beliefs did not fit together logically, Socrates forced them to confront their own lack of knowledge. This process was designed to elicit a clear and consistent expression of concepts. Ultimately, Socrates used this method to challenge complacency, asserting that the "unexamined life is not worth living" and that true wisdom begins with the recognition of one's own ignorance.14