socrates

Socrates

A Claude Code skill that brings structured dialectic reasoning into Claude via /socrates. Describe a problem, get rigorous protocol-driven analysis — no need to know which reasoning method to apply.

Built on riverline-labs/dialectics, a formal engine for structured disagreement resolution expressed in CUE.

Install

Clone with the submodule:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/your-org/socrates.git

Or if already cloned:

git submodule update --init --recursive

The skill lives at .claude/skills/socrates/ — Claude Code picks it up automatically when you open a project containing this repo.

Usage

/socrates <describe your problem>

Socrates analyzes structural features of your problem, selects the appropriate protocol, and executes it — producing a narrative explanation of the reasoning process and conclusion.

Examples

/socrates Why did our API latency increase 40% after the last deployment?

Routes to OVP (validate the observation) then HEP (eliminate causal hypotheses).

/socrates We have three competing database schemas and need to pick one

Routes to CFFP (formalize constraints, pressure-test each candidate, adopt the survivor).

/socrates Is our assumption that users always have network connectivity sound?

Routes to AAP (extract assumptions, stress-test each one, produce a fragility map).

/socrates I don't know what design options exist for our notification system

Routes to ADP (multi-persona exploration of the design space before formalization).

Output Modes

Narrative (default) — prose explanation with section headers per protocol phase:

/socrates <problem>

Structured — typed JSON matching the protocol's CUE output schema:

/socrates --structured <problem>

Record — JSON formatted as a #Record per governance/recording.cue (queryable audit trail):

/socrates --record <problem>

Both — combined structured + record output:

/socrates --structured --record <problem>

Protocols

Socrates includes 13 reasoning protocols across three families. Routing is automatic — describe your problem and the skill selects the right one.

Adversarial — generate, pressure, survive, adopt

These protocols pit candidates against structured adversarial challenges. Survivors earn adoption; eliminated candidates are discarded with explicit reasons.

Protocol	Name	Core Question
CFFP	Constraint-First Formalization	What is the correct formal definition of this construct?
CDP	Construct Decomposition	Is this one thing or secretly two?
CBP	Concept Boundary	What does this term actually mean?
HEP	Hypothesis Elimination	Why did this happen?
ATP	Analogy Transfer	Is this structural similarity real and importable?
EMP	Emergence Mapping	What unexpected behavior appears at the seams?

Evaluative — subject, criteria, verdict

These protocols assess a subject against defined criteria and deliver a verdict.

Protocol	Name	Core Question
AAP	Assumption Audit	What is this argument standing on, and where is it fragile?
IFA	Implementation Fidelity Audit	Does the implementation match the spec?
RCP	Reconciliation	Do these independent outputs agree with each other?
CGP	Canonical Governance	Is this canonical form still fit for purpose?
PTP	Prioritization Triage	Given finite resources, which path first?
OVP	Observation Validation	Is this observation real or an artifact?

Exploratory — personas, rounds, map

Protocol	Name	Core Question
ADP	Adversarial Design	What is the space of possibilities?

ADP deploys six personas (formalist, implementor, adversary, operator, consumer, referee) through structured rounds to map a design space before formalization begins.

How It Works

Architecture