This article is about the intellectual phenomenon of the 5th century BC. For the movement of the 2nd and 3rd century AD, seeSecond Sophistic. For the work by Plato, seeSophist (dialogue).
"Sophism" redirects here; not to be confused withSufism orSophiology.
The arts of the sophists were known assophistry and gained a negative reputation as tools of arbitrary reasoning. "Sophistry" is today used as a pejorative for a superficially sound butintellectually dishonest argument in support of a foregone conclusion.
TheGreek wordσοφός,sophos, 'a wise man' is related to thenounσοφία,sophia, 'wisdom'. Since the times ofHomer, it commonly referred to an expert in his profession or craft.Charioteers, sculptors, or military experts could be referred to assophoi in their occupations. The word has gradually come to connote general wisdom and especially wisdom in human affairs such as politics, ethics, and household management. This was the meaning ascribed to the GreekSeven Sages of 7th and 6th century BCE (such asSolon andThales), and it was the meaning that appears in the histories ofHerodotus.
The wordσοφός gives rise to theverbσοφίζω,sophizo, 'to instruct / make learned', thepassive voice of which means "to become or be wise", or "to be clever or skilled". From the verb is derived the nounσοφιστής,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 fromsophistes.
The word "sophist" could be combined with other Greek words to formcompounds. Examples includemeteorosophist, which roughly translates to "expert in celestial phenomena";gymnosophist (or "naked sophist", a word used to refer to Indian philosophers),deipnosophist or "dinner sophist" (as in the title ofAthenaeus'sDeipnosophistae), andiatrosophist, a type of physician in the later Roman period.
In the second half of the 5th century BCE, particularly inAthens, "sophist" came to denote a class of mostly itinerant intellectuals who taught courses in various subjects, speculated about the nature of language and culture, and employedrhetoric to achieve their purposes, generally to persuade or convince others. Nicholas Denyer observes that the Sophists "did ... have one important thing in common: whatever else they did or did not claim to know, they characteristically had a great understanding of what words would entertain or impress or persuade an audience."[2] Sophists went to Athens to teach because the city was flourishing at the time. It was good employment for those good at debate, which was a speciality of the first sophists, and they received the fame and fortune they were seeking.Protagoras is generally regarded as the first of these professional sophists. Others includeGorgias,Prodicus,Hippias,Thrasymachus,Lycophron,Callicles,Antiphon, andCratylus. A few sophists claimed that they could find the answers to all questions. Most of these sophists are known today primarily through the writings of their opponents (particularlyPlato andAristotle), which makes it difficult to assemble an unbiased view of their practices and teachings. In some cases, such as Gorgias, original rhetorical works are extant, allowing the author to be judged on his own terms, but in most cases, knowledge about what individual sophists wrote or said comes from fragmentary quotations that lack context and are usually hostile.
The Greeks were "experimenting with a new form of government, democracy" (W. Keith, 5). Therefore, they were navigating how to make decisions without a higher authority. They needed to create laws based on demand and popular vote of the people. Back in the fifth century they did not have mass media, printing presses, and barely any texts. They mostly relied on speech. This meant that "the Athenians needed a strategy for effectively talking to other people in juries, in forums, and in the senate" (W. Keith, 5). This is when the sophist began to come about. Originally known as Sicilians, they began to teach Athenians how to speak in a persuasive manner in order to work with the courts and senate. It is not really known how these Sicilians, who came to be Sophists, initially grew an interest to teach others how to speak persuasively. However, the interest in receiving training from the Sophists increased. (The Origins of Rhetoric Keith & Lundberg)
Sophists could be described both as teachers andphilosophers, having travelled about in Greece teaching their students various life skills, particularly rhetoric and public speaking. These were useful qualities of the time, during which persuasive ability had a large influence on one's political power and economic wealth. Athens became the center of the sophists' activity, due to the city's freedom of speech for non-slave citizens and its wealth of resources. The sophists as a group had no set teachings, and they lectured on subjects that were as diverse assemantics andrhetoric, toontology, andepistemology. Most sophists claimed to teacharete ("excellence" or "virtue") in the management and administration of not only one's affairs, but the city's as well. Before the 5th century BCE, it was believed that aristocratic birth qualified a person for arete and politics. However, Protagoras, who is regarded as the first sophist, argued that arete was the result of training rather than birth.[3][full citation needed]
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, theDissoi 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 fromAristotle, who seems to have held the sophists in slight regard.[citation needed]
Protagoras was one of the best known and most successful sophists of his era; however, some later philosophers, such asSextus Empiricus[4] 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 inepistemology. 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 calledTruth.[5]
Xeniades was a skeptical philosopher fromCorinth, probably a follower of the pre-SocraticXenophanes. There may have been two such persons, as he is referenced byDemocritus c. 400 BCE, though was also supposedly the purchaser ofDiogenes the Cynic c. 350 BCE, when he was captured bypirates and sold as aslave. Xeniades was supposed to have been the man who persuadedMonimus to become a follower of Diogenes, and was the source of his skeptical doctrines.[6] The little that is known of him is derived fromSextus Empiricus, who represents him as holding the mostultrasceptical opinions, and maintaining that all notions are false, and that there is absolutely nothing true in theuniverse.[7] He more than once couples him withXenophanes.[8]
Gorgias was a well-known sophist whose writings showcased his ability to make counter-intuitive and unpopular positions appear stronger. Gorgias authored a lost work known asOn the Non-Existent, which argues that nothing exists. In it, he attempts to persuade his readers that thought and existence are different.[9] He also wroteEncomium of Helen in which he presents all of the possible reasons for whichHelen could be blamed for causing theTrojan War and refutes each one of them.
Lycophron is mentioned as a sophist by Aristotle, and was probably among the students ofGorgias[10] He rejected the supposed value of anaristocratic birth,[10] claiming that "Now the nobility of good birth is obscure, and its grandeur a matter of words."[10] meaning that there is no factual difference between those well-born and those low-born; only words and opinion assign value to these different circumstances of birth.[11] This statement may indicate that Lycophron shared the beliefs ofAntiphon, that (regardless of their ancestry) bothGreeks andbarbarians are born with the same capacities: Anegalitarian belief that was a minority view in the 5th century BCE.[10][12] He is also known for his statement (reproduced by Aristotle, in the latter'sPolitics, 1280b10), that "law is only a convention, a surety to another of justice".[13], also translated as "a guarantor of men's rights against one another". He, thus, believed that law is a matter of agreement, asocial convention and not a natural or universal standard (there is no evidence that Lycophron rejected the idea that law is a universal standard – indeed his view appears far more universalist than that of Aristotle, in that Lycophron proposes a single standard, what would now be called the non aggression principle, in relation to all states). In this respect his views on law are similar to those ofProtagoras.[10][14] This means that he treats law as a mere means, in the context of a (perhaps primitive)social contract theory, without considering it as something special, in contradistinction to, e.g.,Plato but similar to bothThrasymachus andCallicles, albeit that their theories have – as far as can be ascertained from the information available about them – more specific characteristics.[13]
Socrates was lampooned by Aristophanes inThe Clouds as a pedantic wordsmith who lived in a basket. Later philosophers such as Plato andXenophon sought to distinguish Socrates' ethical teachings from this comic portrayal of a sophist.
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. As there was a popular view ofSocrates as a sophist, he was among the targets (which prompted a vigorous condemnation from his followers, includingPlato andXenophon). For example, in the comic playThe Clouds,Aristophanes criticizes the sophists as hairsplitting wordsmiths, and makes Socrates their representative.[15] Such criticism, coupled with the wealth garnered by many sophist practitioners, eventually led to popular resentment against sophists and the ideas and writings associated with sophism.
The comic playwrightAristophanes, 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 playThe 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.[16]
An ongoing debate is centered on the difference between the sophists, who charged for their services, andSocrates, who did not.[17] Instead of giving instruction Socrates professed a self-effacing and questioning posture, exemplified by what is known as theSocratic method (althoughDiogenes Laërtius wrote that Protagoras, a sophist, invented this method[18][19]). Socrates' attitude towards the sophists was not entirely oppositional. In one dialogue Socrates even stated that the sophists were better educators than he was,[20] which he validated by sending one of his students to study under a sophist.[21]W. K. C. Guthrie classified Socrates as a sophist in hisHistory of Greek Philosophy.[21]
Isocrates, one of the later sophists, was critical of the education practices of his predecessors
One of the few speeches that have survived from ancient Greece isIsocrates'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 hisPlatonic Academy, Isocrates gave sophism more credibility in society.
As only small portions of the sophists' writings have survived they are mainly known through the works ofPlato. 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.
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.[22]
Plato depicts Socrates as refuting sophists in several dialogues. These texts often depict the sophists in an unflattering light, and 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 inProtagoras. Protagoras argued that "man is the measure of all things", meaning man decides for himself what he is going to believe.[23] The works of Plato and Aristotle have had much influence on the modern view of the "sophist" as a greedy instructor who uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand and ambiguities of language in order to deceive, or to support fallacious reasoning. In this view, the sophist is not concerned withtruth andjustice, but instead seekspower.
Some scholars, such as Ugo Zilioli[24] argue that the sophists held arelativistic view oncognition andknowledge. However, this may involve the Greek word "doxa", which means "culturally shared belief" rather than "individual opinion". The sophists' philosophy contains criticisms ofreligion,law, andethics. Although many sophists were apparently as religious as their contemporaries, some heldatheistic oragnostic views (for example,Protagoras andDiagoras of Melos).
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 byPlato throughSocrates in his dialogues, as well as byXenophon in hisMemorabilia and, somewhat controversially, byAristotle. As a paid tutor toAlexander the Great, Aristotle could be accused of being a sophist. Aristotle did not actually accept payment fromPhilip, Alexander's father, but requested that Philip reconstruct Aristotle's home town ofStageira as payment, which Philip had destroyed in a previous campaign, terms which Philip accepted.[citation needed]James A. Herrick wrote: "InDe Oratore,Cicero blames Plato for separating wisdom and eloquence in the philosopher's famous attack on the sophists inGorgias."[25] Through works such as these, sophists were portrayed as "specious" or "deceptive", hence themodern meaning of the term.
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.[26]
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.[27] Continuous rhetorical training gave the citizens of Athens "the ability to create accounts of communal possibilities through persuasive speech".[28] 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 oflaw, as the sophists were the first lawyers in the world. Their status as lawyers was a result of their highly developed skills in argument.[29]
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.[30] The sophists "offer quite a different epistemic field from that mapped by Aristotle", according to scholarSusan Jarratt, writer ofRereading 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 andrhetoric. 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[31]) 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. UnlikePlato'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 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.
The classical tradition ofrhetoric and composition refers more to philosophers such as Aristotle, Cicero, andQuintilian 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 theRoman Empire, a sophist was simply a teacher of rhetoric and a popular public speaker. For instance,Libanius,Himerius,Aelius Aristides, andFronto 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 BCE.[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.
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 ofCrassus 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.[32]
In his writings, Cicero is said to have shown a "synthesis that he achieved between Greek and Roman culture" summed up in his workDe 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 aspolitior humanitas (2.72). Regardless of his efforts toward this end, Greek history was still preferred by the majority of aristocratic Romans during this time.[33]
From the late 1st century CE theSecond Sophistic, a philosophical and rhetorical movement, was the chief expression of intellectual life. The term "Second Sophistic" comes fromPhilostratus, who, rejecting the term "New Sophistic", traced the beginnings of the movement to the orator Aeschines in the 4th century BCE. But its earliest representative was reallyNicetes of Smyrna, in the late 1st century CE. Unlike the original Sophistic movement of the 5th century BCE, the Second Sophistic was little concerned withpolitics. But it was, to a large degree, to meet the everyday needs and respond to the practical problems ofGreco-Roman society. It came to dominate higher education and left its mark on many forms of literature.[citation needed]Lucian, himself a writer of the Second Sophistic, even callsJesus "that crucified sophist".[34]
During theSecond 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.[32]
In modern usage,sophism,sophist, andsophistry are used disparagingly. A sophism, or sophistry, is a fallacious argument, especially one used deliberately to deceive.[35][36] A sophist is a person who reasons with clever butfallacious and deceptive arguments.[37][38]
^Blackwell, Christopher."Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy". 28 February 2003. The Stoa: a Consortium for Scholarly Publication in the Humanities. 25 April 2007.
^Sprague, Rosamond Kent,The Older Sophists, Hacker Publishing Company (ISBN0-87220-556-8), 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.
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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;JSTOR642792
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