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Debate, Dharma, and the Good Life: Socratic Method Meets Buddhism
In this episode of The Way Between Podcast, Adam and Nick follow the Western thread back to its roots—from the Presocratics to Socrates—and ask how any of this helps us live better today.
Adam starts with the Pre-Socratics as a kind of “ancient Greek YouTube”: the shift from agrarian life into bustling city culture, where people gather on every corner to argue about what the universe is made of—water, air, fire, atoms, and more. Instead of treating these early thinkers as “cute but wrong,” they explore how many of their intuitions line up surprisingly well with modern science and physics.
From there, they turn to Socrates: his background, his street-corner conversations, and the famous claim that he is “wise” only because he knows that he knows nothing. Adam walks through Socratic ignorance, the Socratic method, and why the unexamined life is not worth living—not as an abstract slogan, but as a daily practice of examining our beliefs, reactions, and motives.
Nick brings in the Buddhist side, drawing parallels between Socratic questioning and Buddhist dialectics and debate—especially Nāgārjuna, Madhyamaka, and the idea that any fixed view can be deconstructed. They talk about how deep analysis can loosen our attachments, where thought can’t reach ultimate reality, and how genuine insight requires going beyond thought.
The conversation widens into the mystical heart of Western traditions: Greek mystery schools, early Christian mysticism, and even the idea of Jesus as a kind of wild, marginal figure closer to the mahasiddhas than to modern respectable religion. They touch on Glide Memorial in San Francisco, the tension between radical love and social respectability, and how hard it is for any society to fully welcome its true outsiders.
Throughout, Adam and Nick keep circling back to one question:
How can we use these ancient methods—Socratic inquiry, Buddhist debate, and honest self-examination—as practical tools for our own inner life today?
The Way Between Podcast explores wisdom between East and West, ancient and contemporary, philosophy and everyday life.
🔗 Connect & follow
– Adam’s work and newsletter: The Way Between on Substack and at adamjdietz.com
– Watch episodes on YouTube: The Way Between Podcast
Find Nick’s work in psychology and Buddhist practice through his teaching and writing at NickEganPhd.com
View all episodes
By Adam DietzIn this episode of The Way Between Podcast, Adam and Nick follow the Western thread back to its roots—from the Presocratics to Socrates—and ask how any of this helps us live better today.
Adam starts with the Pre-Socratics as a kind of “ancient Greek YouTube”: the shift from agrarian life into bustling city culture, where people gather on every corner to argue about what the universe is made of—water, air, fire, atoms, and more. Instead of treating these early thinkers as “cute but wrong,” they explore how many of their intuitions line up surprisingly well with modern science and physics.
From there, they turn to Socrates: his background, his street-corner conversations, and the famous claim that he is “wise” only because he knows that he knows nothing. Adam walks through Socratic ignorance, the Socratic method, and why the unexamined life is not worth living—not as an abstract slogan, but as a daily practice of examining our beliefs, reactions, and motives.
Nick brings in the Buddhist side, drawing parallels between Socratic questioning and Buddhist dialectics and debate—especially Nāgārjuna, Madhyamaka, and the idea that any fixed view can be deconstructed. They talk about how deep analysis can loosen our attachments, where thought can’t reach ultimate reality, and how genuine insight requires going beyond thought.
The conversation widens into the mystical heart of Western traditions: Greek mystery schools, early Christian mysticism, and even the idea of Jesus as a kind of wild, marginal figure closer to the mahasiddhas than to modern respectable religion. They touch on Glide Memorial in San Francisco, the tension between radical love and social respectability, and how hard it is for any society to fully welcome its true outsiders.
Throughout, Adam and Nick keep circling back to one question:
How can we use these ancient methods—Socratic inquiry, Buddhist debate, and honest self-examination—as practical tools for our own inner life today?
The Way Between Podcast explores wisdom between East and West, ancient and contemporary, philosophy and everyday life.
🔗 Connect & follow
– Adam’s work and newsletter: The Way Between on Substack and at adamjdietz.com
– Watch episodes on YouTube: The Way Between Podcast
Find Nick’s work in psychology and Buddhist practice through his teaching and writing at NickEganPhd.com