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A sophist (
Etymology
Greeks
The word σοφός gives rise to the verb σοφίζω (sophizo), which means "to instruct" or "make learned", and the passive voice of which means "to become or be wise", or "to be clever or skilled". From the verb is derived the noun σοφιστής (sophistes), which originally meant "a master of one's craft" and later "a prudent man" or "wise man".[1] The word for "sophist" in various languages comes from sophistes.
The word "sophist" could be combined with other Greek words to form compounds. Examples include meteorosophist, which roughly translates to "expert in celestial phenomena";
History
Few writings from and about the first sophists survive. The early sophists charged money in exchange for education and providing wisdom, and so were typically employed by wealthy people. This practice resulted in the condemnations made by
The classical tradition of rhetoric and composition refers more to philosophers such as Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian than to the sophists. Owing largely to the influence of Plato and Aristotle, philosophy came to be regarded as distinct from sophistry, the latter being regarded as specious and rhetorical, a practical discipline. Thus, by the time of the Roman Empire, a sophist was simply a teacher of rhetoric and a popular public speaker. For instance, Libanius, Himerius, Aelius Aristides, and Fronto were sophists in this sense.[citation needed] However, despite the opposition from philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, it is clear that sophists had a vast influence on a number of spheres, including the growth of knowledge and on ethical-political theory. Their teachings had a huge influence on thought in the 5th century BC.[citation needed] The sophists focused on the rational examination of human affairs and the betterment and success of human life. They argued that gods could not be the explanation of human action.
5th century BC
In the second half of the 5th century BC, particularly in
Sophists could be described both as teachers and
1st century AD
From the late 1st century AD the
Major figures
Most of what is known about sophists comes from commentaries from others. In some cases, such as Gorgias, some of his works survive, allowing the author to be judged on his own terms. In one case, the Dissoi logoi, an important sophist text survived but knowledge of its author has been lost. However, most knowledge of sophist thought comes from fragmentary quotations that lack context. Many of these quotations come from Aristotle, who seems to have held the sophists in slight regard.[citation needed]
Protagoras
Protagoras was one of the best known and most successful sophists of his era; however, some later philosophers, such as Sextus Empiricus[6] treat him as a founder of a philosophy rather than as a sophist. Protagoras taught his students the necessary skills and knowledge for a successful life, particularly in politics. He trained his pupils to argue from both points of view because he believed that truth could not be limited to just one side of the argument. Protagoras wrote about a variety of subjects and advanced several philosophical ideas, particularly in epistemology. Some fragments of his works have survived. He is the author of the famous saying, "Man is the measure of all things", which is the opening sentence of a work called Truth.[7]
Gorgias
Criticism
Many sophists taught their skills for a price. Due to the importance of such skills in the litigious social life of Athens, practitioners often commanded very high fees. The sophists' practice of questioning the existence and roles of traditional deities and investigating into the nature of the heavens and the earth prompted a popular reaction against them. The attacks of some of their followers against Socrates prompted a vigorous condemnation from his followers, including Plato and Xenophon, as there was a popular view of Socrates as a sophist. For example, in the comic play The Clouds, Aristophanes criticizes the sophists as hairsplitting wordsmiths, and makes Socrates their representative.[9] Their attitude, coupled with the wealth garnered by many of the sophists, eventually led to popular resentment against sophist practitioners and the ideas and writings associated with sophism.
Plato
As only small portions of the sophists' writings have survived they are mainly known through the works of Plato. Plato's dialogs present his generally hostile views on the sophists' thought, due to which he is largely responsible for the modern view of the sophist as an avaricious instructor who teaches deception. Plato depicts Socrates as refuting some sophists in several of his dialogues, depicting sophists in an unflattering light. It is unclear how accurate or fair Plato's representation of them may be; however, Protagoras and Prodicus are portrayed in a largely positive light in Protagoras.
Isocrates
One of the few speeches that have survived from ancient Greece is Isocrates' Against the Sophists. The speech offers scathing criticisms against sophist teachers and their failures.
While a sophist himself, Isocrates sought to distinguish his school's pedagogical focus from other sophistic teachings. In particular, Isocrates wanted to establish an institution that educated Athenian students in a manner that would promote the success of Athenian democracy. By developing a school in Athens around 392 BCE, – approximately five years after Plato opened his Platonic Academy – Isocrates gave sophism more credibility in society.
Aristophanes
The comic playwright Aristophanes, a contemporary of the sophists, criticized the sophists as hairsplitting wordsmiths. Aristophanes, however, made no distinction between sophists and philosophers, and showed either of them as willing to argue any position for the right fee. In Aristophanes's comedic play The Clouds, Strepsiades seeks the help of Socrates (a parody of the actual philosopher) in an effort to avoid paying his debts. In the play, Socrates promises to teach Strepsiades' son to argue his way out of paying his debts.[10]
Socrates
An ongoing debate is centered on the difference between the sophists, who charged for their services, and
Before Plato, the word "sophist" could be used as either a respectful or contemptuous title. It was in Plato's dialogue, Sophist, that the first record of an attempt to answer the question "what is a sophist?" is made. Plato described sophists as paid hunters after the young and wealthy, as merchants of knowledge, as athletes in a contest of words, and purgers of souls. From Plato's assessment of sophists it could be concluded that sophists do not offer true knowledge, but only an opinion of things. Plato describes them as shadows of the true, saying, "the art of contradiction making, descended from an insincere kind of conceited mimicry, of the semblance-making breed, derived from image making, distinguished as portion, not divine but human, of production, that presents, a shadow play of words—such are the blood and the lineage which can, with perfect truth, be assigned to the authentic sophist". Plato sought to distinguish sophists from philosophers, arguing that a sophist was a person who made his living through deception, whereas a philosopher was a lover of wisdom who sought the truth. To give the philosophers greater credence, Plato gave the sophists a negative connotation.[16]
Some scholars, such as Ugo Zilioli[18] argue that the sophists held a relativistic view on cognition and knowledge. However, this may involve the Greek word "doxa", which means "culturally shared belief" rather than "individual opinion". The sophists' philosophy contains criticisms of religion, law, and ethics. Although many sophists were apparently as religious as their contemporaries, some held atheistic or agnostic views (for example, Protagoras and Diagoras of Melos).
Influence
Democracy
The sophists' rhetorical techniques were useful for any young nobleman seeking public office. The societal roles the sophists filled had important ramifications for the Athenian political system. The historical context provides evidence for their considerable influence, as Athens became more and more democratic during the period in which the sophists were most active.[19]
Even though Athens was already a flourishing democracy before their arrival, the cultural and psychological contributions of the sophists played an important role in the growth of Athenian democracy. Sophists contributed to the new democracy in part by espousing expertise in public deliberation, the foundation of decision-making, which allowed—and perhaps required—a tolerance of the beliefs of others. This liberal attitude would naturally have made its way into the Athenian assembly as sophists began acquiring increasingly high-powered clients.[20] Continuous rhetorical training gave the citizens of Athens "the ability to create accounts of communal possibilities through persuasive speech".[21] This was important for the democracy, as it gave disparate and sometimes superficially unattractive views a chance to be heard in the Athenian assembly.
In addition, sophists had a great impact on the early development of law, as the sophists were the first lawyers in the world. Their status as lawyers was a result of their highly developed skills in argument.[22]
Education
Athens
The sophists were the first formal teachers of the art of speaking and writing in the Western world. Their influence on education in general, and medical education in particular, has been described by Seamus Mac Suibhne.[23] The sophists "offer quite a different epistemic field from that mapped by Aristotle", according to scholar Susan Jarratt, writer of Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured.
For the sophists, the science of eloquence became a method to earn money. In order to teach their students the art of persuasion and demonstrate their thoughts, they focused on two techniques: dialectics and rhetoric. The sophists taught their students two main techniques: the usage of sophisms and contradictions. These means distinguished the speeches of the sophists from the other speakers. Contradictions (antithesis [24]) were important to the Sophists because they believed that a good rhetorician should be able to defend both his own opinion and the exact opposite one. In this way, was developed the ability to find clear, convincing arguments for any thesis. For the sophists, the primary purpose was to win the dispute in order to prove their excellence in word usage. They were convinced that there was no verity, but there were different opinions, equal in importance, and the "verity" was the only one that would be more convincingly demonstrated by the rhetorician.
Sophists were not limited in their speeches only to topics in which they were aware. For them, there were no topics they could not dispute, because their skill reached such a level that they were able to talk about completely unknown things to them and still impress upon listeners and the opponent. The main purpose was to pick an approach to the audience, to please it and to adapt the speech to it. Unlike Plato's approach, the Sophist rhetoricians did not focus on identifying the truth, but the most important thing for them was to prove their case.
The first sophist whose speeches are a perfect example of a sophisticated approach is Gorgias. One of his most famous speeches is the "Praise of Helen", which has made a significant contribution to rhetorical art. In this speech, Gorgias aims to make something almost impossible – to justify Helen, about whom the people have already had a negative opinion. By methods of double oppositions, stringing of repetitive positive qualities and insightful consistent arguments, Gorgias Leontynets gradually purifies the poor reputation of a woman. Later, Aristotle described the means used in Gorgias' speech as "Gorgias figures". All of these figures create the most accessible path for the audience to the argument offered, varying depending on the type of speech and audience.
Rome
During the Second Sophistic, the Greek discipline of rhetoric heavily influenced Roman education. During this time Latin rhetorical studies were banned for the precedent of Greek rhetorical studies. In addition, Greek history was preferred for educating the Roman elites above that of their native Roman history.[25]
Many rhetoricians during this period were instructed under specialists in Greek rhetorical studies as part of their standard education. Cicero, a prominent rhetorician during this period in Roman history, is one such example of the influence of the Second Sophistic on Roman education. His early life coincided with the suppression of Latin rhetoric in Roman education under the edicts of Crassus and Domitius. Cicero was instructed in Greek rhetoric throughout his youth, as well as in other subjects of the Roman rubric under Archias. Cicero benefited in his early education from favorable ties to Crassus.[25]
In his writings, Cicero is said to have shown a "synthesis that he achieved between Greek and Roman culture" summed up in his work De Oratore. Despite his oratorical skill, Cicero pressed for a more liberal education in Roman instruction which focused more in the broad sciences including Roman history. He entitled this set of sciences as politior humanitas (2.72). Regardless of his efforts toward this end, Greek history was still preferred by the majority of aristocratic Romans during this time.[26]
Modern usage
In modern usage, sophism, sophist, and sophistry are used disparagingly. A sophism, or sophistry, is a fallacious argument, especially one used deliberately to deceive.[27][28] A sophist is a person who reasons with clever but fallacious and deceptive arguments.[29][30]
Contemporary Interpretations
In rhetoric and writing studies, the sophists received renewed attention in the 1990s and early aughts. One scholar with particular interest in re-interpreting the sophists for contemporary audiences was Susan Jarrat. In Jarrat's work Re-reading the Sophists, she makes the argument
See also
- Apologetics
- Appeal to nature
- Business speak
- Casuistry
- Confidence trick
- Demagogy
- Fallacy
- Pseudophilosophy
- Psychological manipulation
- F. C. S. Schiller – a pragmatist philosopher during the 20th century who argued that Plato had misrepresented the sophists
- Qin Dynasty
- Sleight of mouth
- Sophist (dialogue)
- Sophistic works of Antiphon
- Sophismata
- Sophistication
Notes
- ^ A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon, 1996, s.v.v. σοφίζω and σοφιστής.
- ISBN 978-0-205-41492-5.
- ^ Plato protagoras, introduction by N. Denyer, p. 1, Cambridge University Press, 2008
- ^ "Sophists | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy".
- ^ Lucian, Peregrinus 13 (τὸν δὲ ἀνεσκολοπισμένον ἐκεῖνον σοφιστὴν αὐτὸν), cited by Guthrie p. 34.
- ^ Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Book I, Chapter 32.
- ^ Vaulker, Aashish (2012). Markets and measurements in nineteenth-century Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 218–228.
- ^ Gaines, Robert N. (1997). Philosophy & Rhetoric. Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press. pp. 1–12.
- ^ Aristophanes' "clouds"; Aeschines 1.173; Diels & Kranz, "Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker", 80 A 21
- ISBN 978-0-88706-395-4.
- JSTOR 25010822.
- ^ Jarratt, Susan C. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991, p. 83
- ISBN 0-87220-556-8), p. 5
- ^ Guthrie, W. K. C. Vol. 3 of History of Greek Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969, p. 399
- ^ a b Guthrie, W. K. C. Vol. 3 of History of Greek Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969, p. 401
- ^ Shiappa, Edward. "Protagoras and Logos" (University of South Carolina Press, 1991) 5
- JSTOR 292215.
- .
- ^ Blackwell, Christopher. "Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy". 28 February 2003. The Stoa: a Consortium for Scholarly Publication in the Humanities. 25 April 2007.
- ISBN 0-87220-556-8), p. 32
- ^ Jarratt, Susan C. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991, p. 98
- ^ Martin, Richard. "Seven Sages as Performers of Wisdom". Cultural Poetics in Archaic Greece. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. 108–130.
- S2CID 36624580.
- ISBN 978-1-4020-8264-1.
- ^ JSTOR 642252.
- JSTOR 642792.
- ^ Sophism.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Sophists". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ "The Sophists". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2020.
References
- Blackwell, Christopher. Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy. 28 February 2003. The Stoa: a Consortium for Scholarly Publication in the Humanities. 25 April 2007.
- Clarke, M.L. "Cicero at School". Greece & Rome, Second Series, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Apr., 1968), pp. 18–22; Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association; JSTOR 642252
- Eyre, J.J. "Roman Education in the Late Republic and Early Empire". Greece & Rome,Second Series, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Mar., 1963), pp. 47–59, Published by: Cambridge University Press; JSTOR 642792
- Guthrie, W. K. C. Vol. 3 of History of Greek Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969
- Jarratt, Susan C. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991.
- Kerferd, G. B., The Sophistic Movement, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1981 (ISBN 0-521-28357-4).
- Mac Suibhne, Seamus (Jan 2010). "Sophists, sophistry, and modern medical education". Medical Teacher. 32 (1): 71–75. S2CID 36624580.
- Rosen, Stanley, Plato's 'Sophist', The Drama of Original and Image, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1983.
- Sprague, Rosamond Kent, The Older Sophists, Hackett Publishing Company (ISBN 0-87220-556-8).
- Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Beacon, 2005. Print
- McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. "Classical Rhetoric 101: A Brief History." The Art of Manliness RSS. The Art of Manliness, 30 Nov. 2010. Web.
Further reading
- Corey, D. 2002. "The Case against Teaching Virtue for Pay: Socrates and the Sophists." History of Political Thought 23:189–210.
- Dillon, J., and T. Gergel. 2003. The Greek Sophists. London: Penguin.
- Gibert, J. 2002. "The Sophists." In The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy. Edited by C. Shields, 27–50. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Montiglio, S. 2000. "Wandering Philosophers in Classical Greece." Journal of Hellenic Studies 120:86–105.
- Robinson, E. 2007. "The Sophists and Democracy beyond Athens." Rhetorica 25:109–122.
External links
- Quotations related to Glevinejusticia/sandbox/articledraft at Wikiquote
- The dictionary definition of sophistry at Wiktionary
- Plato's Dialogue: Sophist
- "The Sophists". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
Category:Ancient Greek educators
Category:Presocratic philosophy