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Definition:
The Sophists were a group of Greek philosophers who made a name for themselves
wandering around the country teaching people how to think, reason and argue.
Their work was considered especially valuable because in the developing Athenian
democracy, people needed the skill to discuss issues, reason about issues, and
persuade others to adopt new views.
The nature of this teaching was wholly practical in nature - Sophists did not teach people that one perspective or another was more correct or more reasonable. Indeed, they were quite willing to adopt any position on any issue when earning their living. As a consequence of the fact that they did not take a firm position on any issue, Sophists were inclined towards a skeptical position with regards to knowledge. The most extreme example of this would have been Gorgias, who wrote:
Nothing exists, and even if it did, nobody could know it, and even if someone did, that person could not communicate this knowledge.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
