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Explore the fascinating world of the Sophists in ancient Greece, where truth was considered relative. Learn about key figures like Protagoras and Gorgias, and their influence on philosophy and rhetoric. Discover how their teachings still resonate today.
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The Sophists Truth is relative. 2 • “...for every school of thought, another school is established in reaction.”(Smith 35)
Progression 3 • Mythologists --> Stories • Naturalists --> Physical matter • Mystics --> Logos & Mythos merge • Sophists -->Truth is subjective • Plato -->Truth with a capital T.
Sophists • The term related to the Greek words sophos and sophia, commonly translated as “wise” and “wisdom”
Sophists • The term related to the Greek words sophos and sophia, commonly translated as “wise” and “wisdom” • A “sophist”, then, is simply a “wise man”
Periclean Democracy • Pericles, an Athenian general, politician and renowned orator ushered in what is generally considered the golden age of Athens—he fostered the arts and executed a large number of public works
Periclean Democracy • The constitutional reform he instigated in Athens in 462/461 B.C. was based upon two principles:
Periclean Democracy • 1) That power should be with the people as a whole and not a small section of the citizen body;
Periclean Democracy • 1) That power should be with the people as a whole and not a small section of the citizen body; • 2) That high offices should be entrusted to those best fitted and most able to carry out civic functions
Periclean Democracy • “What the sophists were able to offer was in no sense a contribution to the education of the masses. They offered an expensive product invaluable to those seeking a career in politics and public life generally. . .”(Kerferd 17)
The Major Players • Protagoras
The Major Players • Protagoras • Born about 490 B.C. in Thrace
The Major Players • Protagoras • Born about 490 B.C. in Thrace
The Major Players • Protagoras • Born about 490 B.C. in Thrace • Met Pericles; later appointed by him to write laws for the Athenian colony of Thurii in 444 B.C.
The Major Players • Protagoras
The Major Players • Protagoras • A successful and respected teacher • Range of interests included ethics, politics, theology, education, cultural history, literary criticism, linguistic studies and rhetoric
The Major Players • Truth is subjective • Most famous for his statement: “Man is the measure of all things.” • There is no way to know absolute truth
The Major Players • Gorgias
The Major Players • Gorgias • Born in Leontini, Sicily around 480 B.C.
The Major Players • Gorgias • Born in Leontini, Sicily around 480 B.C. • In 427, sent as an ambassador by Leontini to Athens, which he visited repeatedly or even settled there
The Major Players • Gorgias • His oratorical virtuosity amazed Athenians
The Major Players • Gorgias • His oratorical virtuosity amazed Athenians • Famous for his extemporaneous oratory—he would ask an audience to suggest a subject that he would then speak about knowledgeably
The Major Players • Isocrates
The Major Players • Isocrates • Born to a wealthy family in Athens in 436 B.C.
The Major Players • Isocrates • Born to a wealthy family in Athens in 436 B.C. • Student of Gorgias; also an acquaintance of Socrates
The Major Players • Isocrates • Set up his own school of rhetoric around 392 B.C. emphasizing sophist principles of rhetoric, especially kairos
The Major Players • Isocrates • Believed that for his students to succeed, they required three things: a natural ability; knowledge gained by imitation and practice, and a means to apply that practice
What does all this have to do with our world? Why does it matter now? • http://www.edge.org/responses/what-scientific-idea-is-ready-for-retirement