Compare And Contrast Socrates And The Sophists

Socrates lived his a life in controversy. He was frowned upon by many due to his character and how he conducted himself. Many assumed that he was considered to be a part of an elite group of teachers back in ancient Greece, the Sophists. In this essay I will be giving a few reasons on how Socrates were in many ways different than the Sophists. Firstly, Socrates was interested in finding the truth in concepts. Secondly Socrates lived a simple life. The last way that Socrates differed from the sophist was he believed in his convictions and held his character at high standard. These are just a couple of the many differences that set Socrates apart from the sophists.
Socrates was known as one of the wisest men in Athens. It was not due to the …show more content…
Socrates was poor unlike the sophists but he was happy. He did not correlate excellence with money. The Sophist only taught students from that were from wealthy backgrounds. They associated only with high class, whereas Socrates was more interested in being humble. He only wanted to engage in conversation with people similar to himself. He didn’t want to argue nor did he want to waste his time on someone who wanted to speak just for the sake of winning a point. Unlike the sophists that taught specific subjects, Socrates did not teach any. He did not even write any work during this time the only information that is documented are writings from his peers. He felt like writing was an ill way of communication. Communication by dialogue proved to be more effective in teaching. The sophist were well off individuals. They correlated virtue by monetary gain, victory, and popularity. In comparison Socrates was only interested in teaching and others learning. Socrates did not take payment for his teachings. He felt that by others learning the truth that was enough value to him. His thought process on gaining virtue and knowledge differed as well. In the eyes of Socrates virtues were skillsets that required knowledge and the only way to live a good life would be to seek out truth. Socrates understood that for someone to be fully happy and live a virtuous life they would need understand and …show more content…
During Socrates trial and the Apology, despite being on trial for multiple reasons that could result in his death he stuck by his convictions and beliefs. He understood that he was there for a higher purpose and his divine destiny was not to shrink his thoughts for the comfort of others. He understood, and advised, that it was his purpose to help the Athenians improve their way of thinking. Socrates was trying to make the Athenians better people in comparison to the Sophists who wanted to gain victories. He did not take monetary gain from any of his pupils due to not wanting to validate a weaker argument for self-gain. Rhetoric was used back then to strengthen weaker arguments to win and although Socrates may have understood the concept of persuasive thinking; however, he felt like that style of teaching would hinder his