The Sophists – Ancient Greek Philosophers of Deceptive Argument

 

 

The sophists, whose philosophy was known as sophistry, were ancient Greek philosophers who used clever but false arguments with the intent of deceiving.

They were usually travelling teachers, whose aim was to “enlighten” the citizens of Athens and other Greek cities in the fifth century B.C.

They were the first formal teachers of the art of speaking and writing in the Western world, and they taught the aristocratic youth of Athens the art of rhetoric; how to reason and win arguments in a underhand way.

The English word sophisticated, meaning cultured or refined, comes from the Greek sophist, which in turn means someone who learns something in order to impress others and to do well in careers in the public office, politics and law.

As a result of their highly developed skills in argument, the sophists were the first lawyers in the world.

 

Artistic Speech versus Truth and Knowledge

 

 

Many philosophers of Classical Athens condemned the sophists for putting artistic speech and cleverness above the genuine search for truth and knowledge.

However, the sophists did provide a beneficial service to the aristocratic young men of Athens, by instructing them how to gain the upper hand, by fair means or foul, in Athenian politics, law and commerce.

 

The Haves and the Have-Nots

 

 

It’s worth mentioning here that the sophists, unlike most of the well-known philosophers, such as Plato, were actually working for a living.

Most ancient Greek philosophers came from wealthy, aristocratic Athenian families who owned large areas of land and enslaved lots of people.

Therefore they had no need to charge students tuition fees; they supported themselves off the agricultural produce from the lands they owned.

Aristotle, a student of Plato, who also came from an extremely wealthy family, was another one who criticized the sophists.

Those who wanted to teach, but did not have Plato or Aristotle’s hereditary wealth, had little choice but to charge tuition fees in order to make a living.

 

A Win-Win Situation

 

 

For the sophists, the only goal was to win an argument in order to prove their excellence in word usage.

Sophists did not limit themselves to subjects of which they had some knowledge, for them, no topic was taboo.

Their debating skills were of such a high level, that they were capable of discussing anything, even things they had absolutely no knowledge of at all, and still fascinate their audience or adversaries.

 

By the People for the People

 

 

In the fifth century B.C., Athens was already a thriving democracy; however, the Athenians were always on the lookout for ways of making decisions without people of higher authority sticking their noses in and throwing out their ideas.

Their goal was to create laws based on the vote of the people.

What they needed was a way of talking to other people in juries, in forums, and in the senate.

Here is where the sophists, with their persuasive ability to influence political power and economic wealth, played an essential part in the evolution of Athenian democracy.

Back in those days there was no mass media or printing presses, they relied on the persuasive speaking or writing of the sophists.

With their power of persuasion, the sophists managed to give contrasting, and sometimes outlandish views, the opportunity to be heard in the Athenian assembly.

 

Protagoras
The First Sophist

 

 

Protagoras (c. 485-415 B.C.), a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, from Abdera, an ancient town on the coast of Thrace, was the first major sophist, one who questioned everything the Greeks traditionally believed.

Protagoras lived in ancient Athens where he worked as a highly paid teacher of the upper-class youth of the city, whom he taught how to debate in a way which would win court cases; a highly prized skill and one that Protagoras was very good at.

The main aim of Protagoras was to “make the weaker argument the stronger” and to “make the worse case better”.

He taught his pupils that there are many sides to every argument and that any side can, at least hypothetically, be argued for persuasively.

Protagoras paved the way for many other Sophists, including Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, Thrasymachus, Antiphon, Lycophron, Callicles and Cratylus, to name but a few.

 

“Man is the measure of all things”

 

 

Protagoras is famous for his saying “man is the measure of all things”, meaning man decides for himself what he is going to believe.

He maintained that if everything was only opinion, then there was no way that there was any truth.

He stated that to claim that everyone will interpret an experience in the same way is unrealistic.

According to Protagoras, anyone could believe whatever they wanted to and be correct in that belief and those things will be interpreted and understood differently by each person experiencing them.

Maybe the best example of this is how witnesses of the same crime often give a different interpretation of what they saw and some will declare the accused guilty whilst others will defend their innocence.

 

Protagoras on God

 

Protagoras also maintained that, if indeed there were gods, as most Greeks believed, there was no way of proving what they were like or what they might want from humanity by way of service and worship.

He was not claiming that the gods did not exist, only that he couldn’t say, say, based on his personal experience, whether they did or not.

These ideas led to Protagoras being condemned as an atheist and his works being burned.

 

Criticism

 

 

Little if nothing remains of the works of the ancient sophists, what we do know is mainly owing to the works of Plato, who took a hostile view of them.

Before Plato, the word “sophist” was regarded as either a respectful or a derogatory title.

Unlike Plato, the Sophists did not focus on identifying the truth; the most important thing for them was to prove their case, a skill handy in lawsuits and political speeches.

Plato portrayed sophists as money-hungry stalkers of the young and wealthy, as dealers in information, and executioners of the soul.

Plato argued that a sophist made his living through deception, whilst in contrast; a philosopher was a lover of wisdom who sought the truth.

 

Sophistry Today

 

Today, the words sophist and sophistry, represent a person deliberately using false reasoning, intellectual fraud and dishonest morals in order to manipulate people into agreeing with them.

On the other hand, if sold in the correct way, using deceptive argument, sophists could be seen not as dubious con men with shady moral principles, but as helpful business men teaching politicians and lawyers useful skills!

Today we might also add people in the advertising and marketing world to the list of those who use sophistry to help them become successful.

Think about it!