Sophist

ability to speak was not a license to bend the rules and constructs of society but rather a power to advocate within them. Though a rhetorician can convince his audience of anything he desires, he would not act to do so, for unlike the manipulative sophist, he stands for the benefit of things greater than himself alone. He stands for freedom of speech as the hallmark of democratic society, that…

Ethics is the study of good and evil, right and wrong, moral rules, virtues, and the good life. Ethics can also be defined as someone’s status, meaning and justification of who they are. Plato and Aristotle were two great thinkers and philosophers that differed in the explanation of their philosophical concepts. Morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Plato and Aristotle differed on how morality is explained. Plato would define…

During the axial age, “human self-understanding in major cultures around the world underwent transformations so dramatic that they constituted the most important turning-point (axis) in human history” (The search for Self- Understanding). As civilization took over in many parts of the world, people began questioning the way they lived their lives and began looking for an answer. Different pieces of literature and scripts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Rig Veda and the Upanishads were written…

dialogue Gorgias seems superficially concerned with defining oratory in its core. However, the debate between Socrates and the sophists breaches into matters of the common good, the corruption of evil, and justice. Socrates, being a one who is devoted to philosophy, raises a standard on these subjects and must effectively uphold them against barrages of questions from sophists whose view may be skewed by position or previous party affiliation. By agonistically analyzing the good of oratory,…

Although Plato’s Gorgias begins with an examination of rhetoric, the dialogue quickly become focused on more profound topics that lie hidden beneath the knack of persuasion. At first inquiring about rhetoric, Socrates challenges Gorgias and his followers, Polus and Callicles, to justify their lifestyle of accumulating power and pleasure. At the center of this debate over what constitutes a happy life is a struggle to define the nature of strength, which both sides agree it is the key to finding…

Socrates applies a rhetoric called elenchus that counters the popular Sophist rhetoric of the time. Elenchus introduces a method of debate based on utilizing questions and answers that inspire analytical thinking and tests the credibility of the opponent’s prior dialogue. In short, Socrates continuously “investigate[s] the question” (Line 348a). Socrates himself never explicitly states his opinion, but simply restates the declarations of the three interlocutors: Cephalus, Polymarchus, and…

Greek elders would teach young wealthy boys rhetoric tools to use in public speeches (Hannah et al.). The sophists expanded the teachings of rhetoric to the public. They traveled around Greece setting up schools to teach rhetoric strategies. The most famous Sophists schools were taught by both Gorgias and Isocrates (Mckay). Plato did not approve of the sophists teachings and had a negative view on rhetoric. Aristotle did not agree with his teacher Plato and believed rhetoric could…

Plato is widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy. He is from ancient Greece and is one of the most renown classical Greek philosophers. He was an idealist/ rationalist – “what could be?” Plato is also the founder of the Academy of Athens, which is believed to be the first institution of higher learning in the western world. His philosophy was interested in three areas: platonic epistemology, metaphysics, ethics. One thing that I think about when I read…

clear to all his debaters that the goal of debate is not to trick people into thinking one’s position is correct, but rather to reach the truth via careful reasoning. This philosophy lends itself to a comparison to Socrates and the Sophists. Socrates condemned the Sophists for teaching only rhetoric and not morality, but I think I can say with certainty that Socrates would be proud of Mr. Woodhouse and what he has taught me about ethics. It would be an understatement to say that Scott Woodhouse…

They 're rapists,” (Newsday). Trump specializes in a rhetoric focused on fear and violence. Trump speaks on whatever comes to mind, while being entertaining, which has an appeal to voters that want a president nothing like the past office holders. Sophists would approve of Trump’s form of rhetoric, because he is able to persuade and win his way over the…