SOPHISTS

sŏfˈĭsts, originally, itinerant teachers in Greece (5th cent. b.c.) who provided education through lectures and in return received fees from their audiences. The term was given as a mark of respect. Protagoras was perhaps the first to style himself a Sophist and to receive payment for his instruction. He and Gorgias were respected thinkers, but others after them, notably Thrasymachus and Hippias, and many lesser figures, turned education into the development of skills useful to political careers. Hence, they cared little for the disciplined search for truth (dialectics), teaching in its place the art of persuasion (rhetoric). Although not properly speaking a philosophical school, they appear to have shared a basic skepticism regarding the possibility of knowing truth. The more notorious of them boasted of their ability to "make the worst appear the better reason." They were criticized by Plato and Aristotle for their emphasis on rhetoric rather than on pure knowledge and for their acceptance of money, a judgment that has passed into history and has given the term sophist its present meaning. George Grote's History of Greece (1846) was one of the first defenses of the Sophists. Modern studies have stressed the contributions of Protagoras and Gorgias to a theory of knowledge and to ethics. They are frequently cited today as forerunners of pragmatism.

See W. K. C. Guthrie, Sophists (1971); H. Diels, ed., The Older Sophists (1972).

____________________

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

-44601-

Top...
Search the Library
Books
Journals
Magazines
Newspapers
Encyclopedia
Advanced Search
About Questia
Questia is the world's largest online academic library offering full-text books, journals, and articles on thousands of topics.

Join Now...
Questia Books and Articles on: Sophists
We found: 3872 results
By media type:
 

Books:

 

3503  

 

Journal articles:

 

282  

 

Magazine articles:

 

63  

 

Newspaper articles:

 

9  

 

Encyclopedia articles:

 

15  

Research Topics on: Sophists

 List All Topics    
Isocrates Sophists
 

books on: Sophists  - 3503 results

       More book Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>  
 
1.
Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured
Book by Susan C. Jarratt; Southern Illinois University Press, 1991
Subjects: Feminist Criticism, Rhetoric, Ancient, Sophists (Greek Philosophy)
THE FIRST SOPHISTS: HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY B OTH THE written remains of the first sophists and the ancient commentary on them are minimal...neglect for centuries, the fifth-century sophists have been submitted, within the last two...
2.
The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists
Book by Robin Waterfield; Oxford University Press, 2000
Subjects: Pre-Socratic Philosophers, Sophists (Greek Philosophy)
...distortions have spoiled the record of the Sophists as well, due in this case not to Aristotle...by distinguishing him sharply from the Sophists, to the detriment of the latter, who...orators, poets, and, above all, the Sophists. Xenophon succinctly displays the typical...
3.
Image and Paradigm in Plato's Sophist
Book by David Ambuel; Parmenides, 2007
Subjects: Plato--Sophist
...derives directly from the sophists. Phaedrus raises the assertion of some sophists that rhetoric need not take...put similar words in the sophists mouth when Gorgias extolls...concerns with reality, or the sophist may take the further step...
4.
Plato's Theory of Knowledge: The Theatatus and the Sophist of Plato
Book by Francis MacDonald Cornford, Plato; Liberal Arts Press, 1957
Subjects: Knowledge, Theory Of, Plato
...these purifiers of the soul Sophists? 230e. Stranger continues...shrink from 231. calling them Sophists. Theaet. Why so? Str. For...resemblance to that type the Sophist . Str. So has the dog to the...so i.e. let them pass for Sophists ; for should they ever set...
5.
The Second Sophistic: A Cultural Phenomenon in the Roman Empire
Book by Graham Anderson; Routledge, 1993
Subjects: Rome--Civilization--Greek Influences, Rome--History--Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D, Sophists (Greek Philosophy)
...these associations tend to converge: sophists tend to run the schools of rhetoric...rhetors practise in the courts. Hence sophists can be called upon to provide the lustre...leaving us the lives of some thirty-odd sophists, Philostratus has posed a problem...
More book Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>

Top...
 

journal articles on: Sophists  - 282 results

       More journal Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>  
 
1.
On Plato's 'Sophist.'
Journal article by Seth Benardete; The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 46, 1993
Subjects: Philosophy, Ancient--Analysis, Plato--Philosophy, Sophist (Book)--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
...the model for the sophist. This turnaround...diverge from the sophists at the division...versions of the sophists two ways, but in...duplicate exactly the sophist. For the Stranger...however, must the sophist be assumed to have...to nonbeing? The sophists claim is that he...
2.
Who's a Philosopher? Who's a Sophist? the Stranger V. Socrates
Journal article by Catherine H. Zuckert; The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 54, 2000
Subjects: Philosophers, Ancient--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Plato--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Socrates--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Sophists (Greek philosophy)--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
...a purifier a "sophist."(25) Observing...purifiers resemble sophists the way dogs do...distinguishes the sophist. Although no human...everything, the sophists ability to refute...Stranger looks like a sophist: "The sophists disguise...
3.
Why Shouldn't the Sophists Charge Fees?
Journal article by James Fredal; Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Vol. 38, 2008
Subjects: Cultural values, Fees & charges, Gifts, Ideology, Intellectuals, Teaching methods
...century references to sophists are sometimes pejorative...particularly relevant to "the sophist problem." Aristophaness...later) reveals the sophists fees to be an already...he will refer to as sophists. Harrison comments...incapable of using the term sophist without at the same...
4.
What Difference a Definition Makes, Or, William Dean Howells and the Sophist's Shoes
Journal article by Jeffrey Walker; Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Vol. 36, 2006
Subjects: Classical studies, Grammar, Howells, William Dean, Literary criticism, Novels, Rhetoric
...Makes, Or, William Dean Howells and the Sophists Shoes by Jeffrey Walker (ProQuest Information...I tried to sketch what I called a "sophists history of rhetoric," in which the...I might say that I wrote it as a "sophists history of rhetoric," as provocation...
5.
Why Anthropologists Should Study Rhetoric
Journal article by Michael Carrithers; Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 11, 2005
Subjects: German philosophy--Criticism and interpretation, German philosophy--Social aspects, Philosophy, German--Criticism and interpretation, Philosophy, German--Social aspects, Rhetoric, Sophists, Sophists (Greek philosophy)
...practically all of the things we have devised. Isokrates (1) <br/ Isokrates was a Sophist, and so comes down to us clouded by the reputation of the Sophists with their supposedly treacherous and twisting skill of persuasion, rhetoric. But...
More journal Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>

Top...
 

magazine articles on: Sophists  - 63 results

       More magazine Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>  
 
1.
Rimbaud: Sophist of Insanity
Magazine article by Eric Ormsby; New Criterion, Vol. 19, June 2001
Subjects: Authors, French--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Poets--Criticism, interpretation, etc., Rhetoric--Usage, Rimbaud, Arthur--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Rimbaud: sophist of insanity by Eric Ormsby Stephane Mallarme caught a glimpse of Arthur...undramatic pain. I think that Rimbaud knew this, that he was, in fact, a sophist of insanity. Does he not exult "I played fine tricks on madness...
2.
In the Midst of a Second American Revolution
Magazine article by Nancy Salvato; World and I, Vol. 21, June 2006
Subjects: Gramsci, Antonio--Works, Philosophers--Works, Political power--Analysis, Power (Social sciences)--Analysis, Rand, Ayn--Works, Universals (Philosophy)--Analysis, Universals and individuals (Philosophy)--Analysis
...prior culture wars: the rise of the Sophists in ancient Greece and the era identified...Aufklarung. (11) In the first: They Sophists boasted of their ability to make the...points were employed. In this way, the sophists tried to entangle, entrap, and confuse...
3.
Ancient Greece's Death Penalty Dilemma and Its Influence on Modern Society
Magazine article by Robert Blecker; USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Vol. 135, July 2006
Subjects: Ancient Greek civilization--Influence, Capital punishment--History, Capital punishment--Influence, Capital punishment--Social aspects, Civilization, Greek--Influence, Constitutions, Future punishment, Murderers--Civil rights, Premeditation (Law), Revenge, Society--Social policy
...wandering teachers known as Sophists in a similar contest...the first and greatest Sophist. Every question has...relentlessly battled the Sophists, insisting on absolute...better off dead. Todays Sophists--who for centuries...will have confirmed the Sophist Thrasymachus definition...
4.
Aborting Logic
Magazine article by Donald Demarco; Human Life Review, Vol. 34, Fall 2008
Subjects: Abortion, Books, Business closings, Political correctness, Pro choice movement, Pro life movement, Surgical apparatus & instruments
...Socrates stood courageously against the Sophists. He wanted to engage in a productive...ground that makes dialogue possible. The Sophists were content merely to seem to be wise...abortion or in its defense. Because the Sophists and pro-abortionists both reject wisdom...
5.
The State-of-the-Art School: A Fairy Tale
Magazine article by David A. Gilman, Ruth Ann Gilman; Technos: Quarterly for Education and Technology, Vol. 11, Summer 2002
Subjects: Educational technology--Usage, Schools--Science and technology policy
...had become divided into three factions. Sophists, Luddites, and Obfuscators Some were Sophists who proclaimed that this was an idea whose...demise of the State of the Art School. The Sophists were not able to create lessons quickly enough...
More magazine Results: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 >>

Top...
 

newspaper articles on: Sophists  - 9 results

       More newspaper Results: 1-9 >>  
 
1.
HOW SASHA AND MALIA DID THEIR BIT TO MAKE LANGUAGE HEROIC AGAIN; YOU TALKIN' TO ME? RHETORIC FROM ARISTOTLE TO OBAMA by Sam Leith (Profile Books, [Pounds Sterling]14.99)
Newspaper article; The Evening Standard (London, England), October 13, 2011
Subjects: Books
...you have earned the puppy thats coming with us to the new White House.") Rhetoric was no longer the preserve of dead white sophists. It had become heroic again. Knowing the importance of "kairos", or picking your moment, Leith may wish he had published...
2.
GREECE LIGHTNING; Troy Special Issue: Why Do Men Want Six-Packs and Women Hate Body Hair? in This Exclusive Feature, Based on His New Book, Cambridge Professor Simon Goldhill Examines the Influence That the Great Ancient Civilisation of Greece Has Had on Modern Life
Newspaper article; The Mail on Sunday (London, England), April 25, 2004
...democracy about the professional experts in communication who were hired to make weak arguments look stronger. They called them sophists. Their techniques threatened the whole political process, they said. If that sounds familiar, it is because it is another...
3.
Questioning Federally Funded Human Embryo Research
Newspaper article; The Washington Times, May 31, 1999
Subjects: Singer, Peter
...appointees to recommend legislation permitting taxpayer-subsidized laboratory experiments with human embryos are being used by sophists in our universities who would warrant the killing of unwanted newborns should give one pause. Let those who are inclined to...
4.
Why Conservatives Must Recognize Mr. Farrakhan
Newspaper article; The Washington Times, March 25, 1997
Subjects: Farrakhan, Louis
...like nature, abhors a vacuum. If traditional leaders do not address issues of profound cultural and material importance, sophists of a demagogic nature will fill the void. Assuredly, Mr. Farrakhan is not the solution to the feeling of crisis many black...
5.
Giving the Lie Its Share of the Credit
Newspaper article by Colin Walters; The Washington Times, September 23, 2001
...Benjamin Jowett called "the Absolute Talker." Platos anti-Sophist shadow hangs over the Middle Ages, until the idea of authoritarian...I mentioned that argument reaching back to Plato and the Sophists; it comes up again with the English Puritans, who, after...
More newspaper Results: 1-9 >>

Top...
 

encyclopedia articles on: Sophists  - 15 results

       More encyclopedia Results: 1-10 11-15 >>  
 
1.
Sophists
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
SOPHISTS sof ists, originally, itinerant teachers...was perhaps the first to style himself a Sophist and to receive payment for his instruction...1846) was one of the first defenses of the Sophists. Modern studies have stressed the contributions...
2.
Socrates
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
...to him some of the faults of the Sophists (professional teachers of rhetoric...Although Socrates in fact baited the Sophists, his other critics seem to have...a professional specialty as the Sophists had pretended to teach it. However...
3.
Philosophy
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
...Aristotle , at the Academy in Athens. Roman philosophy was based mainly on the later schools of Greek philosophy, such as the Sophists , the Cynics , Stoicism , and epicureanism . In late antiquity, Neoplatonism , chiefly represented by Plotinus , became the...
4.
Aristophanes
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
...Peloponnesian War; The Knights (424), a political satire on the demagoguery of the period; The Clouds (423), a satire on the sophists and on Socrates; The Wasps (422), a satire on the Athenian passion for litigation; The Peace (421), a defense of the...
5.
Protagoras
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2009
PROTAGORAS protag r s, c.490 c.421 b.c., Greek philosopher of Abdera, one of the more distinguished Sophists . He taught for a time in Athens, where he was a friend of Pericles and knew Socrates, but was forced to flee because of his...
More encyclopedia Results: 1-10 11-15 >>

Top...
 About Questia   ::   Privacy   ::   Contact