Compare and contrast the Sophists and S
Kelsey Fenech Spiteri
Compare and contrast the Sophists and Socrates’ moral position.
The Sophists were public speakers, mouths for hire in an oral culture. They were gifted with speech. They were skilled in what is known as Rhetoric. They were respected, feared and hated at the same time. They had a gift and used it in a manner that aroused the ire of many. They challenged, questioned and did not care to arrive at the very best answers.
They cared about winning public speaking contests, debates, and lawsuits and in charging fees to teach others how to do as they did. To be able to speak well meant a great deal at that time. As there was no real paper available, (there was nothing written which could be used as evidence back then) they would need to settle any arguments through a contest of words: one person's words against another's. Whoever presented the best oral case would often win. To speak well was very important. The Sophists were very good speakers. Indeed, they had reputations for being able to convince a crowd that up was down, that day was night, that the wrong answer could be the right answer, that good was bad and bad is good, even that injustice is justice and justice would be made to appear as injustice!
The Sophists taught others how to; win no matter how bad your case is/win friends and influence people/succeed in business without really trying/succeed in life/play to win .
The Sophists held no values other than winning and succeeding. They were not true believers. They were atheists, relativists and cynical about religious beliefs and all traditions. They believed and taught that "might makes right". They put their trust in whatever works to bring about the desired end at whatever the cost. They made a business of education and profited from it.
Their concerns were not with truth but with practical knowledge. They practiced rhetoric in order to persuade and not to discover truth. Their art was to persuade the
Compare and contrast the Sophists and Socrates’ moral position.
The Sophists were public speakers, mouths for hire in an oral culture. They were gifted with speech. They were skilled in what is known as Rhetoric. They were respected, feared and hated at the same time. They had a gift and used it in a manner that aroused the ire of many. They challenged, questioned and did not care to arrive at the very best answers.
They cared about winning public speaking contests, debates, and lawsuits and in charging fees to teach others how to do as they did. To be able to speak well meant a great deal at that time. As there was no real paper available, (there was nothing written which could be used as evidence back then) they would need to settle any arguments through a contest of words: one person's words against another's. Whoever presented the best oral case would often win. To speak well was very important. The Sophists were very good speakers. Indeed, they had reputations for being able to convince a crowd that up was down, that day was night, that the wrong answer could be the right answer, that good was bad and bad is good, even that injustice is justice and justice would be made to appear as injustice!
The Sophists taught others how to; win no matter how bad your case is/win friends and influence people/succeed in business without really trying/succeed in life/play to win .
The Sophists held no values other than winning and succeeding. They were not true believers. They were atheists, relativists and cynical about religious beliefs and all traditions. They believed and taught that "might makes right". They put their trust in whatever works to bring about the desired end at whatever the cost. They made a business of education and profited from it.
Their concerns were not with truth but with practical knowledge. They practiced rhetoric in order to persuade and not to discover truth. Their art was to persuade the