The Shophists
As I mentioned on the "defining terms page," the Sophists are the first group of individuals responsible for making rhetoric what it is today. Although they were the first ones to truly study and teach the art of Rhetoric; many Greek civilians and philosophers disagreed with it's practice. There are three significant Sophists that I will be discussing on this page: their names are Protagoras, Gorgias, and Isocrates. However, before we discuss these three men individually, lets take a look at the Sophists as a whole.
The Sophists believed that people were not capable of knowing absolute truths (how the universe works,) therefore, they did not believe we could converse about it either. They believed that everything was subjective and that one's perception was their reality. In short and, according to Lee: "due to this belief, everything was situational and based upon one's experience" (Lecture, September 9, 2014). In terms of their general epistemology, the Sophists believed that there were no absolute truths and ,because of this they used rhetoric to make sense of the world. They used rhetoric to create the illusion of truths and used it to manipulate people. Most Sophists were what we call metics. They traveled from city to city, therefore, they were not native to Greece. "They were drawn to Greece because of it's democratic state" (Lecture, Lee, September 9, 2014). In addition to all of that, the Sophists also believed that Rhetoric and Philosophy went hand-in-hand. In fact, they considered themselves both Rhetoricians and Philosophers. Most sophists were teachers and speechwriters who lived in Greece during the emergence of Rhetoric--they charged people to learn the art of Rhetoric. In other words, they charged people to learn how to use language to their advantage in order to keep their high ranking in their social hierarchy. |
Gorgias In contrast to Protagoras' epistemology, Gorgias compared language to the divine. According to Lee, "Gorgias once said, 'language is a powerful lord" (Lecture, September 2014). He believed that language had power over human beings. He used language to his benefit, and realized that he had the power to manipulate those who did not understand language. It is believed that he did this to gain power and, like other Sophists, Gorgias charged people so that they could learn his practices and gain power as well. He entertained his audience and did what ever it took to keep their attention.
IsocratesIsocrates: like most Sophists, denied the knowledge of absolute truth and believed that perception was reality. According to Lee, "Isocrates studied with Protagoras and was Gorgias' pupil" (Lecture, September, 2014). Unlike Gorgias, Isocrates valued ethics more, and was not as manipulative in his speeches. He was also predominately a teacher due to his stage fright. Isocrates also had his own school where he taught many people. He believed that Sophistic training would better society.
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Protagoras
Protagoras was the first of the Sophists: he is the most well known Sophist, as he was considered "The father of Debate." He believed in a concept known as dissoi logoi, which essentially means you cannot understand an argument unless you can fully see both sides of it. For example: he believed you had to put your self in someone else's shoes in order to understand their objections, etc. His idea of dissoi logoi reflects the Sophist theory that perception is reality. Protagoras attempted to turn his students into civic leaders and, even though many people disagreed with his rhetorical philosophies he was still respected.