Professional teachers of rhetoric (as well as other subjects) inancient Greece are known as Sophists. Major figures included Gorgias, Hippias, Protagoras, and Antiphon. This term comes from the Greek, "to become wise."
Examples
- Recent scholarship (for example, Edward Schiappa's The Beginnings of Rhetorical Theory in Classical Greece, 1999) has challenged conventional views that rhetoric was born with the democratization of Syracuse, developed by the Sophists in a somewhat shallow way, criticized by Plato in a somewhat impractical way, and rescued by Aristotle, whose Rhetoric found the mean between Sophistic relativism and Platonic idealism. The Sophists were, in fact, a rather disparate group of teachers, some of whom may have been opportunistic hucksters while others (such as Isocrates) were closer in spirit and method to Aristotle and other philosophers.
- The development of rhetoric in 5th-century B.C. certainly corresponded to the rise of the new legal system that accompanied the "democratic" government (that is, the several hundred men who were defined as Athenian citizens) in parts of ancient Greece. (Keep in mind that before the invention of lawyers, citizens represented themselves in the Assembly--usually in front of sizable juries.) It is believed that the Sophists generally taught by example rather than precept; that is, they prepared and delivered specimen speeches for their students to imitate.
In any case, as Thomas Cole has noted, it's difficult to identify anything like a common set of Sophistic rhetorical principles (The Origins of Rhetoric in Ancient Greece, 1991). We do know a couple of things for certain: (1) that in the 4th century B.C. Aristotle assembled the rhetorical handbooks that were then available into a collection called the Synagoge Techne (now, unfortunately, lost); and (2) that his Rhetoric (which is actually a set of lecture notes) is the earliest extant example of a complete theory, or art, of rhetoric.
Plato's Criticism of the Sophists
Read MoreArt of Persuasion: Ancient Rhetoric UnveiledBy Richard Nordquist "The Sophists formed part of the intellectual culture of classical Greece during the second half of the fifth century BCE. Best known as professional educators in the Hellenic world, they were regarded in their time as polymaths, men of varied and great learning. . . . Their doctrines and practices were instrumental in shifting attention from the cosmological speculations of the pre-Socratics to anthropological investigations with a decidedly practical nature. . . .
"[In the Gorgias and elsewhere] Plato critiques the Sophists for privileging appearances over reality, making the weaker argument appear the stronger, preferring the pleasant over the good, favoring opinions over the truth and probability over certainty, and choosing rhetoric over philosophy. In recent times, this unflattering portrayal has been countered with a more sympathetic appraisal of the Sophists' status in antiquity as well as their ideas for modernity."
(John Poulakos, "Sophists." Encyclopedia of Rhetoric. Oxford University Press, 2001)
The Sophists as Educators
"[R]hetorical education offered its students mastery of the skills of language necessary to participating in political life and succeeding in financial ventures. The Sophists' education in rhetoric, then, opened a new doorway to success for many Greek citizens."
(James Herrick, History and Theory of Rhetoric. Allyn & Bacon, 2001)
"[T]he sophists were most concerned with the civic world, most specifically the functioning of the democracy, for which the participants in sophistic education were preparing themselves."
(Susan Jarratt, Rereading the Sophists. Southern Illinois University Press, 1991)
Isocrates, Against the Sophists
"When the layman . . . observes that the teachers of wisdom and dispensers of happiness are themselves in great want but exact only a small fee from their students, that they are on the watch for contradictions in words but are blind to inconsistencies in deeds, and that, furthermore, they pretend to have knowledge of the future but are incapable either of saying anything pertinent or of giving any counsel regarding the present, . . . then he has, I think, good reason to condemn such studies and regard them as stuff and nonsense, and not as a true discipline of the soul. . . .
"[L]et no one suppose that I claim that just living can be taught; for, in a word, I hold that there does not exist an art of the kind which can implant sobriety and justice in depraved natures. Nevertheless, I do think that the study of political discourse can help more than any other thing to stimulate and form such qualities of character."
(Isocrates, Against the Sophists, c. 382 BC. Translated by George Norlin)
FAQs
Arguing that 'man is the measure of all things', the Sophists were skeptical about the existence of the gods and taught a variety of subjects, including mathematics, grammar, physics, political philosophy, ancient history, music, and astronomy.
How did Socrates feel about Sophists? ›
According to Kerferd, the sophists employed eristic and antilogical methods of argument, whereas Socrates disdained the former and saw the latter as a necessary but incomplete step on the way towards dialectic.
How are the Sophists best described? ›
Sophists. The Sophists were orators, public speakers, mouths for hire in an oral culture. They were gifted with speech. They were skilled in what becomes known as Rhetoric.
Why do you think many Greeks condemned the idea of the Sophists? ›
The Greeks condemned the ideas of Sophists because the Sophists questioned Greek culture's ideas. Success was more important to them than moral truth. After the Peloponnesian War, the majority of young Athenians followed them due to their rhetorical skills.
What were the sophists criticized for? ›
Sophists were criticized by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle for their emphasis on rhetoric rather than on pure knowledge, and for their acceptance of money for their teachings. Plato said that sophists were greedy and used tricks such as ambiguities in language and fallacious reasoning to deceive others.
What was the Greek political thought of the Sophists? ›
They also believed that men were naturally nonsocial, that the state rested upon an artificial and individualistic basis, and that political authority was essentially selfish in its aims. The Sophists were the first teachers of individualism and originated the idea that the state rests upon a social compact.
Why were Sophists hated? ›
Many of the sophistic educators were characterized as deceitful because they were more concerned with making a profit from teaching persuasive trickery than of producing quality orators that would promote Athenian democracy.
Why does Socrates claim he cannot be a Sophist? ›
Socrates also wants to distance himself from the Sophists—people who went around taking money to teach people rhetoric or the art of persuasion. Socrates claims to not have the kind of knowledge that the Sophists profess to have and points out that he does not take money to teach anyone anything.
What did Socrates and the Sophists disagree on? ›
Socrates and the Sophists were fundamentally opposed. Socrates believed that truth and morality are never-changing constants that hold true for every human being. The Sophists, led by Protagoras, believed that truth and morality are relative. That what is true for one person may not be true for another.
What does Plato say about Sophists? ›
The Sophist in Plato is the master of the art of illusion; the charlatan, the foreigner, the prince of esprits-faux, the hireling who is not a teacher, and who, from whatever point of view he is regarded, is the opposite of the true teacher.
In today's society, lawyers are the true modern Sophists — arguers for hire. And the court is their battleground where they try to outshine each other in a dazzling show of Sophistry!
Did Sophists believe in absolute truth? ›
Absolutely not, said the Sophists.
What impact did the Sophists have on ancient Greece? ›
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.
Why did Socrates disagree with the Sophists quizlet? ›
Socrates disagreed with the Sophists because the Sophists believed that their students should use their time to improve themselves. Socrates believed that an absolute truth existed within each each person. Socrates invented the Socratic Method. It says that if you ask pointed questions they will get an answer.
Which statement is best connected with the sophists? ›
Final answer: The Sophists are best associated with the concept that communication may have powerful moral outcomes, as they were skilled in the art of persuasion and rhetoric. The statement best connected with the Sophists is c. Communication may have powerful moral outcomes.
What were the main ideas of the Sophists? ›
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.
What were the Sophists known for quizlet? ›
The Sophists were Greek teachers who were paid to teach pupils in the education of arete (ability to persuade others with rhetoric). They did not believe in absolute truths, instead, since no truth existed, they believed it was more effective to prove something using wordplay (rhetoric) than logic.
What is an example of a sophist argument? ›
If a candidate falsely claims that the crime rate in a city is rising so that he can gain the support of voters who believe he'll be tough on crime, his statement is a sophism. The word comes from the Old French sophime, "fallacy or false argument," and its root, the Greek sophisma, "clever device or stage trick."
