Here’s Protagoras from the opening of his book ON THE GODS: “As for the gods, I cannot know either that they exist or that they do not exist; for many things hinder knowledge, including uncertainty and the brevity of human life." (From Tim Whitmarsh BATTLING THE GODS, p. 87)
The Sophists were important forerunners of Academic Skepticism. They were the first to put forth the idea the more plausible/probable argument - a key element of Academic Skepticism.
As others have said, nice to read a balanced view of Sophists. I will be revisiting Laertes Diogenes' life of Protagoras. I also enjoyed re-reading your battle with your friend's sophist boyfriend. Some valuable lessons of which to be reminded.
Thank you. You mentioned that the sophist thinkers were concerned with science and philosophy to a degree that we may not realize if we only see what Plato said about them. As a layman, it seems like they contributed to the practice of law and politics too, by their emphasis on being able to master and understand arguments for and against a position. This rhetorical approach may be questionable in practice, but seems sound in theory as a tool to discern truth. For example, Darwin took care to articulate objections to his theory of evolution through natural selection, before taking care to articulate rebuttals to those objections.
And I wish politicians today were able to practice such rhetorical skills to change minds. Too often rhetoric gets a bad name from nihilistic politicians who engage in logical fallacies such as straw man and ad homien attacks. They skip the mind and go directly to the reptilian instincts
Here’s Protagoras from the opening of his book ON THE GODS: “As for the gods, I cannot know either that they exist or that they do not exist; for many things hinder knowledge, including uncertainty and the brevity of human life." (From Tim Whitmarsh BATTLING THE GODS, p. 87)
The Sophists were important forerunners of Academic Skepticism. They were the first to put forth the idea the more plausible/probable argument - a key element of Academic Skepticism.
As others have said, nice to read a balanced view of Sophists. I will be revisiting Laertes Diogenes' life of Protagoras. I also enjoyed re-reading your battle with your friend's sophist boyfriend. Some valuable lessons of which to be reminded.
I have to emphatically agree with you, Massimo. Robin Waterfield rocks!
It's nice to read a balanced article on the Sophists. Thank you!
I really enjoyed reading this text. Thank you! I will definitely look for more information about Protagoras
Thank you. You mentioned that the sophist thinkers were concerned with science and philosophy to a degree that we may not realize if we only see what Plato said about them. As a layman, it seems like they contributed to the practice of law and politics too, by their emphasis on being able to master and understand arguments for and against a position. This rhetorical approach may be questionable in practice, but seems sound in theory as a tool to discern truth. For example, Darwin took care to articulate objections to his theory of evolution through natural selection, before taking care to articulate rebuttals to those objections.
And I wish politicians today were able to practice such rhetorical skills to change minds. Too often rhetoric gets a bad name from nihilistic politicians who engage in logical fallacies such as straw man and ad homien attacks. They skip the mind and go directly to the reptilian instincts