Socrates famously compared his role as a philosopher with that of a midwife; it was not possible to impart knowledge to his students, any more than it is possible for a midwife to give birth. Yet, the philosopher is not useless; he arranges the conditions under which learning may occur, just as the midwife prepares the mother to give birth. Yet it is the student (or the mother) who must do the hard work.
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