system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Socrates and the method named after him

*Hey, I asked this question on ELI5 and a mod suggested me to come here instead.*

Who is Socrates, why is he important and what's the big deal about the 'Socratic method?'
gpt
Socrates was a philosopher in Athens, Greece about 2400 years ago. One of his students, Plato, wrote a number of texts which went on to pretty much be the foundation of Western philosophy.

Socrates didn't write anything himself (that we know about), but Plato used him as a character in his works. In many of these works, the character Socrates has a questioning style. He'll approach a priest, for example, and say, "Hey, you're a priest. You should know what piety is. So, tell me, what is piety?" The priest will try to answer it, Socrates will point out how that answer is unsatisfactory. The priest will try again. And so on and so on. Eventually, presumably, the two would eventually figure out what piety is. 

This never happened, though. In the dialogues, the other character eventually gets sick of Socrates' questions and begs off.

Socrates was pretty annoying. And, he embarrassed a number of important Athenians by pointing out they didn't know key concepts of their disciplines. And these embarrassing episodes took place in front of well-to-do Athenian youths, like Plato. 

Anyway, this questioning style is what's meant by the Socratic method.  

Socrates was eventually arrested and executed for "corrupting the youth."

You can read the priest dialogue in The Euthyphro, and Socrates' trial in The Apology.