Transcript The Sophists of the 4th and 5th Century B.C. • Sophistry means practical wisdom. • The first two sophists were: Corax and Tisias (the.

The Sophists of the 4th and 5th
Century B.C.
• Sophistry means practical wisdom.
• The first two sophists were: Corax and
Tisias (the crow and the egg).
• See Herrick p. 35
• Lets do one.
What did the Sophists teach?
• Arete or virtue rather then birth right.
• Nomos or conventional agreement as
opposed to thesmos (kings) or physis
(natural law) or logos (theory).
• Antilogike or counter argument.
Criticisms of the Sophists
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Epideixis or memorized speeches.
Help build the middle class.
Techne for the citizens.
Rhythm (Leon Enos) (Rap music).
Can make the lesser case appear the
stronger case.
Three Great Sophists
• Gorgias
• Protagoras
• Isocrates
Gorgias
• Three part beginning point:
Nothing exists.
If anything did exist, we could not know
it.
If we could know it, we could not
communication it.
Famous For:
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Incantations
Style
Supernaturalism
Antithesis, see Herrick p. 43
Protagoras
• Man is the measure of all things.
Isocrates
• Thematic and Practical.
• Civil minded.
So why were they hated?
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Love songs (O Danny Boy) or “Hey, you there.”
Politics or “Elect me.”
Is there a God? The watch or threats argument.
Who should rule? Best talker or birth?
Professional juries?
Albert Einstein: Imagination is more important
then knowledge.