ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Available for over a year

Good morning. There's been a good deal of interest in the exchanges in the House of Commons yesterday when Jeremy Corbyn as the new labour leader asked questions of the prime minister for the first time. The ability of members of parliament to ask oral or written questions of ministers is a vital part of British democracy. And such questioning is a day by day reality not confined to the weekly showpiece questioning of the prime minister. In the House of Lords, each day starts with a series of such questions and it's not uncommon for a minister in the face of this to go beyond his or her departmental briefing and say something which can move policy forward. This half an hours of questioning at the start of each day is arguably the most productive part of the day's work. Of course the use of probing questioning to get at a hidden or underlying truth isn't an invention of the British parliament, it's as old as civilization. The method of questioning developed in Greece by Socrates some two and a half thousand years ago lay at the heart of later ethical critical thinking and much of the scientific method of testing hypotheses. He's quoted as saying "I can't teach anybody anything, I can only make them think". This wasn't always appreciated by those whose arguments were shown to be shallow by his relentless questioning. This may well have contributed to his condemnation and death. Another teacher relying on the power of asking questions was Jesus from Nazareth. The gospels credit him with asking 135 questions during his three year tour of teaching and healing. Some of his questions were fundamental "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world. Yet forfeits his soul?" Some were challenging, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do as I say?" "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Some came out of his own personal agony, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And Jesus skilfully asked rhetorical questions to emphasize a point in a powerful but non combative manner. "Why does this generation seek for a sign?" communicates rather better than "You stubborn group of unbelieving people." Probing questions can be effective without being hectoring. Hopefully we will see more of this style of questioning and answering from all sides in the House of Commons in the months ahead.