1 Was Socrates mere conversational gadfly? : Re-viewing Socratic elenchus from a pragmatic perspective Fina Felisa L. Alcudia, Ph.D. (English Studies – Language) Introduction The “gadfly” of Athenian conscience – this was how the Platonic Dialogues presented the historical Socrates. In his writings, Plato had positioned Socrates, his esteemed teacher, as one who would relentlessly ask questions about the nature of virtue, courage, friendship, piety, how life should be lived, and the like. Yet, the character of Socrates would confess ignorance. Those who sought outright answers to philosophical questions ended up frustrated or perplexed in the presence of someone reckoned as the wisest Greek of his time by the oracle in Delphi. As the main interlocutor in Plato’s dialogues, Socrates would admit to his own “perplexities” as he engaged in discourse with the prominent citizens and the youth of Athens. Socrates had been criticized by the Athenians then, by the thinkers that came after him, and by readers now, for having asked questions more than he provided answers for them and leaving his listeners in a state of aporia or perplexity. This paper re-examines the method of elenchus as situated in discourse, i.e., the dialogues, and juxtaposes it with a pragmatic theory in linguistics. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that Socrates’ dialectic of inquiry and refutation, specifically in challenging his interlocutors to arrive at essential definitions of piety, courage, etc., was beyond verbal flamboyance. Rather, he engaged them in a process of drawing out propositions by making sense of circumstances and experiences as a means to systematize the concepts under discussion essentially using language as a tool. I use Paul Grice’s theory of meaning and the maxims of the