Socrates' stance on "What is F?" questions is that they are fundamental for knowledge. Socrates believed that until one knows what a thing is, one cannot answer any other questions about it. Therefore, any inquiry into any moral question presupposes an answer to the relevant "What is X?" question. Socrates believed that there were objective moral standards, that they could be discovered, and that there were right and wrong answers to moral questions that went beyond mere opinion and popular sentiment. Socrates' favorite sort of question is the "What is F?" question, and it is the subject of much rich thought. Socrates believed that the sort of things he asks about (what is piety, what is courage, what is virtue, etc.) are knowable and explainable by humans. He believed that questioning was the only defensible form of teaching. Socratic questioning adds another level of thought to critical thinking, by focusing on extracting depth, interest, and assessing the truth or validity of ideas.
So, how should we answer "What is F?" questions? According to Socrates, we should answer these questions by engaging in Socratic questioning, which is a method of inquiry that focuses on discovering answers by asking questions. Socratic questioning enables the scholar/student to examine ideas and be able to determine the validity of those ideas. Socratic questioning is a disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning that helps individuals to reason through complex issues, understand and assess the thinking of others, and follow-out the implications of what they and others think. Therefore, we should answer "What is F?" questions by engaging in Socratic questioning, which helps us to discover answers and determine the validity of those answers.