The path of philosophical thought in all ages has developed according to a similar principle: all universal models are replaced by teachings that sharply rebel against all metaphysics and refer to the limitations of consciousness and cognition. Immanuel Kant came for Descartes and Leibniz, and positivists for the nineteenth-century materialists and Hegel. In ancient Greece, the cradle of all sciences, and philosophy in particular, such situations were constant. One school criticized and refuted another, and then vice versa. However, there were people who proposed an original solution to all disputes: if all philosophical schools contradict each other in theories, then maybe all their “facts” and “arguments” are just “opinions”? After all, in fact, no one saw neither Jehovah, nor the Creator God, nor the finiteness or infinity of being. Sophistry is precisely this “pill” against endless philosophical wars.
Who are sophists?
The most famous representatives of this school were Protagoras, Antiphon, Hippias, Gorgias, Prodik, Lycophron. Sophistry is a system that aims to teach virtue, wisdom, oratory and the basics of management. Of contemporary figures, Dale Carnegie stands very close to her. Antique sophistry was the first system represented by the so-called “knowledge sellers” who introduced an innovative type of relationship between trainees and trainers - mutually beneficial equal communication and attitude.
What did the representatives of this philosophical school do?
Sophists taught to convince people, to think independently and were associated with the emergence of democracy in many cities in Greece. They proclaimed the fundamental principle of equality of people among themselves, put forward theories and concepts that ultimately laid the foundation for building modern relations in the field of law and public administration. Sophistry is the basis for psychology, scientific philology, logic, theories of the origin of religions.
What does the term sophist mean?
Sophistry is a philosophical school that has become widespread in ancient Greece. This teaching was founded by scientists from the Greek city of Athens around the second half of the fifth century BC. The term "sophist" itself is translated from Greek as "sage." So called professional teachers who taught people oratory. Unfortunately, the writings of the founding fathers are actually completely lost; almost nothing has come to our days. However, using indirect information, it was possible to establish that this caste of philosophers did not try to create an integral system of education and knowledge. They did not attach any importance to the systematization of instruction. The purpose of the sophists was one - to teach students to polemicize and discuss. That is why it is believed that classical sophistry in philosophy is a doctrine aimed at rhetoric.
"Senior" sophists
Based on historical sequence, we can talk about the existence of two currents - the "senior" and "younger" philosophers of sophism. The “elders” (Gorgias, Protagoras, Antifont) sophists were researchers in the field of ethics, politics, law, and the state. Relativism of Protagoras, who claimed that “man is the measure of things, ” brought to this school a denial of truth in its objective form. According to the ideas of the “senior” sophists, matter is volatile and fluid, and since it is such, perception is transformed and changes constantly. It follows that the true essence of phenomena is hidden by matter itself, which is not possible to objectively imagine, so you can talk about it as you like. The ancient sophistry of the "elders" is absolutely subjective and postulates the relativity of knowledge and knowledge. All the authors of this trend have an idea that being itself does not exist, since knowledge of it cannot be objectively transferred to others.
Younger sophists
Among the “younger” representatives of this philosophical school, which include Critius, Alkidam, Lycophron, Polemon, Hippodamus and Frasimachus, sophistry is “juggling” concepts and terms, using false tricks that would prove both lies and truth. In Greek, the word "sophism" means "cunning", which is expressed in the activities of the followers of this teaching as the use of verbal tricks that are misleading. False arguments based on a violation of logic are widespread.
