...Was Socrates a Sophist? (20 mark) Sophists were known as teachers of rhetoric, philosophy and virtues. They were well known in ancient Greece for making the weaker argument the stronger and for speculating on sciences that went against the ‘gods’. They were often regarded as intellectuals as the word sophism derived from the word ‘sophos’, meaning wise man. In the latter years of Socrates’ life he has often been regarded as a Sophist but there are many evidences which prove he is not. Firstly, Sophists were teachers who charged a fee for their efforts and instruction. This was the case as they were said to be the only ones who were wise, and were giving people knowledge to benefit from and better themselves with. Socrates on the contrary did not establish a fee or a payment; he on the other hand went out on his own will to question the people about virtues. His regular trips to the Agora reinforce this point as he was simply looking for people to question about matters with no answer, with no intention of taking money or making people wiser. Nonetheless, although Socrates did not ask for money from his interlocutor, he would sometimes be rewarded through hospitality such as, foods and places to stay. This was however the choice of his ‘student’ whether or not they wanted to pay him in such a way, which distinguishes Socrates from the Sophists. Additionally, the Sophists were skilled in elaborate argumentation; were they would try and make the argument they were focusing on...
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...Was Socrates a Sophist? Sophists were flourishing in and around Athens in the latter half of the fifth century BC, and played a major role in the thriving city. They had a great influence on the artistic and intellectual culture of the era, however they almost immediately acquired a bad reputation, and this reputation has stuck. A sophist was known as a quibbler, someone who indulges in mere argument for argument’s sake, and by playing on words, makes issues problematic that are not. For most Athenians, Socrates was misunderstood, and often accused of being a sophist. For example, in his comedy, Clouds, Aristophanes portrays Socrates as a Sophist. These accusations eventually led to his death, however there were many differences between him and the sophists, and writers such as Plato, Aristotle and Xenophon back up the idea he was not a sophist. Socrates ideas were heavily concerned with the truth and believed philosophical truth was much more important than public acceptance. As seen in Gorgias, he argued for moral rhetoric and used a method of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving a discussion in which the defence of one point of view is questioned. A participant may lead another to contradict himself in some way, strengthening the inquirer's own point. Sophists on the other hand, were not interested in the truth of a matter...
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...Sophist vs Socrates During class, we were presented with an article called “The Ivy League, Mental Illness, and the Meaning of Life,” written by William Deresiewicz, a former Yale English professor. In this article, Deresiewicz explains how an elite education can lead to a cycle of grandiosity and depression in adolescents. He believes the nation’s most prestigious schools are full of “excellent sheep” because they just follow instructions without thinking why they are doing it. They have not been given the opportunity to find their own path in life. Deresiewicz thinks these schools are flawed and that we are creating a society where some kids are animals in a scientific experiment. People may argue that this article can be similar to Sophist or Socrates teachings. To begin with, Socrates was a Greek philosopher, who cared nothing for appearance and was only interested in the mind. His face was unbelievably ugly and disproportionate but it did not matter to Socrates. He was disliked because he challenged the people and the state where he lived. Socrates was known for questioning assumptions and challenging the way things are. He believed “the unexamined life is not worth living,” so people should always find out the reason why they do certain things in their life. This seems nothing like the students Deresiewicz described in his article. None of the students examine their life like Socrates would want them to, they just follow instructions. Since the students are nothing like...
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...Aristophanes portrays Socrates as a Sophist: a duplicitous charlatan eager to take peoples' money for teaching them to flout the laws and defy moral norms. The conflation of Socrates with the Sophists is based on a superficial similarity between the interests of Socrates and the sophists concerning education and virtue, but which fails to distinguish between the moral relativism of the Sophists and the belief in absolute moral standards held by Socrates (and his puppet-master Plato). The term "sophist"" is derived from the Greek words sophos and sophia which are usually translated as "wise" and "wisdom". The Sophists were itinerant teachers who claimed to teach wisdom; more specifically, Protogoras, one of the first to willingly identify himself as a Sophist, stated that he taught one how to take "proper care of his personal affairs, so that he may be manage his own household, and also of the State's affairs, so as to become a real power in the city, both as speaker and man of action." (Protogoras 318e-319a). Socrates reinterprets Protogoras' statement as a claim to make students into good citizens, and Protogoras readily agrees. Socrates then presents two objections to the claim that one can learn how to be a good citizen by studying with a teacher. First, Socrates notes that, while an expert is consulted in technical matters such as architecture or shipbuilding, no special expertise is demanded in order to participate in government. Second, Socrates observes that "the wisest...
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...A FEW NOTES ON SOCRATES AND THE SOPHISTS Sophists and Socrates both used the elenchus, a method of questioning which is something like ‘cross-examination.’ The Socratic elenchus eventually gave rise to the dialectic, the idea that through question and answer, through opposing ideas, through modifying one’s position and throwing out false opinions (doxa) truth might be pursued. It requires the searching out and bringing forth of true opinions in order to guide the interlocutor towards right thinking and a knowledge of the true forms. Although Socrates, in the Apologia, claims to have discovered no other truth than that he knows no truth, the Socrates of Plato’s earlier dialogues is of the opinion that truth is obtainable by use of the elenchus. SOPHISTS - while they use the elenchus they do not develop a dialectic aimed at leading people towards truth. Some practice eristic, flashy and ostentatious employment of verbal tricks, capping an argument or trapping an opponent without regard to searching out truth. So, among all the other forms of decadence which Aristophanes points to in Athenian society at this time, might be added the decadence of philosophical argumentation. SOPHISTS were mainly outsiders, not Athenians. They came offering an education suited to the creation of a competititve public sphere which seemed to threaten the Old Education, the traditional mythopoetic education based on the poets (Homer, Hesiod, Pindar), religious ritual, and cultic initiation...
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...Anna Lin Exam 1 6/18/14 Socrates’ Courageousness Socrates should not be classified as a Sophist for many reasons. He did not take money from those whom he spoke to; sophists did not care if their conclusions were true, yet Socrates used his ways of dialectic to try to find the absolute truths and he tries to proof to people that the immortal soul exists that is why he does not fear death. Socrates tries to let people know that there is life after death by proving himself right; he is not afraid of death. For instance, “Socrates claims that the death is nothing more than the separation of the soul from the body and although some group of people denies it, the soul is immortal considering the cycle of life and death, the theory of recollection and the affinity argument” (Makaleler). Makaleler tells the audience that Socrates is so certain that the soul is immortal. He also says death is just the soul leaving the body, yet many people don’t believe what he says. People denies Socrates’ way of thinking is mainly because they are scared of changes, they fear the unknown of what exactly will happen to them when the soul leaves the body. This is a good example of why Socrates is not a sophist because if he was a sophist he would have collected money then tell people what they want to hear, as this quotes states people do not believe in him. Socrates is not trying to please anyone to get money, he is just stating what the divine voice had told him. Again, “The soul can be...
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...APOLOGY Sophists The sophists were rhetoric teachers in Athens who lived at the same the as Socrates. They were major intellectual figures, and the term “sophist” means “wise person.” At that time “sophistry” was roughly equivalent to “rhetoric,” and rhetoric is the art of persuasion using language. However, the term ‘sophistry’ is now generally used to refer to manipulative forms of rhetoric. Protagorus * Was a Sophist Why was socrates unpopular * Two sets of charges put toward Socrates * * Accused of worshiping false Gods (or no Gods at all) * Also accused of corrupting the youth * Socrates adds that there are unspoken charges pressed against him * * He says these charges are the real reason he is in court * He says the may be impossible for him to fight against What do the people (wrongly) believe about Socrates: * He is the same as the Presocratics (and therefore does not believe in God) * Interested in Arche * An atheist * A sophist * Teaches the young (corrupting them) * * Socrates never tried to teach anyone * Therefore he denied he was a sophist Oracle of Apollo at Delphi * If socrates is not a sophist, and does not teach virtue, what has he been doing? * * He calls upon the Oracle to prove that he only has human wisdom (not divine) * The Oracle tells Socrates’ friend that he is “the wisest of men” * ...
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...a midwife, Socrates received the most basic Greek education. Because of this, Socrates was expected to follow his father’s profession, making stone sculptors, but Socrates turned away from his life as a sculptor and fought in the Potidaean War, saving the life of a distinguished General Alcibiades. After he returned from war, his friend asked The Oracle of Delphi: “Is there any man smarter than Socrates?” The Oracle replied with “none”. This was the trigger for Socrates to start his path of Philosophy, as he went through Athens questioning people about their intelligence to prove the oracle wrong. He mused that the poorer people of Athens showed more wisdom than the more educated. This teaching was popular among the youth of Athens, and Socrates found himself being followed by a dozen or more young men, hoping to learn off of Socrates. He accepted no payments for this philosophical teachings,...
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...until the 800s BC with the appearance of Homer, who was an author of multiple epic poems. Homer is most commonly known for, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”, which both are compiled of multiple speeches within his poems. This allowed Homer to use rhetoric throughout his works. Rhetoric is used much more than just in works of literature. Education and government play large...
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...The Sophist movement in classical Greece was definitely a time in which Greeks saw change. Texts such as Gorgias’ Helen and Palamadeus, Antiphon’s Tetralogies, and Plato’s Gorgias have all displayed the immense influence in day to day life that sophists were gaining through rhetoric. Although the movement as a whole had great potential, the reality is that it was not used as a force for good. In order to understand the sophist movement it is important to identify who the first sophists were and how they changed the public’s view of rhetoric. A sophist is someone who studied rhetoric and made distinctions between physis and nomos. Physis can be translated to roughly mean nature and how things come to be naturally. On the other hand, nomos...
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...and most people would agree with Socrates when he claims that “…the unexamined life is not worth living…”. From a more personal standpoint I would completely agree with Socrates point of view, due to the fact most of us in society have chosen to live the “unexamined life” for centuries and as a result we live in a society where one has to live segregated from our freewill as human beings as well as a society that is restrained by rules and other types of social “walls”. He asks the jury's forgiveness if he slips into his usual conversational style. This is his first appearance in a court of law, he explains, and so he is completely unfamiliar with the language of the place. As the jurors might forgive a foreigner for speaking in his accustomed dialect, Socrates asks their patience if he, a stranger to the law courts, might speak as he normally would as well. Rather than pay attention to his style, Socrates asks the jurors to pay attention to the substance of his speech and consider whether what he says is true or not. Commentary The sharp contrast that runs throughout this first section lies between the studied, artificial--and false--speech of Socrates' accusers, and Socrates' own improvised, conversational--and true--speech. At this time in Athens, there were a great many sophists, professional teachers who would instruct the wealthy youth of the city in oratory. Throughout his works, Plato gives a rather unkind picture of these sophists--it seems they were generally considered...
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...epistemology to explore the question of what knowledge is and in The Sophist he focuses on the quest how can something be if it is nothing? In The Theatetus Socrates and Theatetus have a long conversation about knowledge and whether it is any different from wisdom. Socrates asks, “Is it not true that learnings about something means becoming wiser in that matter?”# Socrates then gets Theatetus to agree that knowledge and wisdom is the same thing. I do knot think that they are the same thing. This story becomes to abstract for my liking. I live in a world of more absolutes as opposed to the opposite in which is relativism. There is a wrong a right the way I see things. Someone could have knowledge of what will lead you to getting a DUI but still drink and drive. A wise man who may have received a DUI before will not risk the chance. Both men had the knowledge but one only has wisdom. This conversation hits on the famous statement of Protagoras- “man is the measure of all things- alike of the being things that are and of not-being of things that are not”#. Socrates uses this quote to build up a straw-man argument that he ultimately gets Theatetus to agree that one-man perception is knowledge and that perception is infallible just as knowledge is. This goes on back and forth between Socrates and Theatetus, with Socrates getting Theatetus to agree on things and then contradicting what he believes. Socrates gets Theatetus to agree that all things are constantly changing and...
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...today. Therefore my main reason for studying philosophy is to expand my knowledge and live the good life. What is philosophy? Philosophy, the Greek Word for "love of wisdom," has been defined in a variety of ways, one of which is the notion that philosophy is the rational attempt to formulate, understand, and answer fundamental questions (Voices of Wisdom). What makes people partake in philosophy. It is philosophy that we turn to when we have the need to seek out a guiding principle for our lives. Therefore, philosophy holds a prominent place in society and in the world. Basically, everyone is a philosopher, but it takes the creative genius and reasoning of brilliant thinkers to bring about earth-shattering concepts. Like Thales,Socrates,Plato and Aristotle to name a few. What are the origins of Philosophy? Philosophy started when human beings started to ask questions, about how and what things are actually, due to curiosity. The things that caused these questions to come about were the people started to realize that everything is not exactly what it appears to be. Philosophy started in the town of Miletus Greece, many early philosophers came from here. The philosophers started their work around 585 B.C. Thales, one of the early Miletus philosophers, left no writings behind, all we know about him is memorable incidents recorded by later writers... Philosophy encompasses a vast range of topics...
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...philosophy throughout the centuries. He was a public figure and he made major contributions to society. Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of modern culture through his ideas and writings. One of the most philosophical thinkers of Western civilization, Plato is the only author from ancient Greek times whose writings survive intact. His collection consists of thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, though the authorship of some is contested. Plato was born in Athens, into a prosperous aristocratic family. His Father’s name was Ariston and his Mother’s name was Perictione. His relative named Glaucon was one of the best-known members of the Athenian nobility. Plato's name was Aristocles, his nickname Plato originates from wrestling circles, Plato means broad, and it probably refers either to his physical appearance or his wrestling style. “Plato is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy,” (Kraut, 2009). Plato was born during the Golden Age of Athens’s which saw the birth of classical architecture, drama, arts and politics. However, as he was growing up he observed the decline of Athens as a cultural center. He witnessed instances of cruelty, disloyalty, and dishonesty and it was in clear violation of his values. It was also during this time that Plato fell...
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...cognitively meaningless. Its emphasis is logic and language. On the other hand, the continental school defines philosophy in terms of the meaning of life and one’s relationship with the world and the Other (other human beings and/ or God). It considers the activities of the analytic tradition as meaningless to one’s life. Its emphasis is life. It is therefore advisable to just leave the definition of philosophy in its original etymological meaning, although even this is not safe. Quite recently, Hans-Georg Gadamer (1989), an hermeneute, has rejected epistemic wisdom as within the realm of human control. The ancient Greeks defined philosophy as love of (epistemic) wisdom. Thales, who is traditionally considered the father of philosophy, was interested in “knowing” the ultimate reality, or the funadamental/basic stuff out of which everything comes into being and to which everything eventually returns. Metaphysics is the study of ultimate reality, but to “know” the ultimate reality is to engage in an epistemological inquiry as a part of metaphysics. In other words, the wisdom to know the ultimate reality is an epistemic wisdom. Following Aristotle’s distinction, Gadamer...
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