Philosophy of the Sophists and Socrates

1. The general concept of sophistry and periodization of sophist schools.

Soffits – philosophical school in ancient Greece, which existed in the 5th - first half of the 4th centuries. BC. Representatives of this philosophical school acted not so much as philosophical theorists, but as philosopher-educators who taught citizens philosophy, oratory and other types of knowledge (translated from Greek “sophists” - sages, teachers of wisdom). Among the sophists, the so-called groups stand out:

senior sophists (5th century BC) - Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, Antiphon, Critias; junior sophists - Lycophro, Alcidamantus, Trassimachus.

Socrates did not officially belong to these groups, but shared many of the ideas of the sophists and used sophistry in practical activities.

2. Characteristic features of the philosophy of the Sophists.

Sophists are characterized by: a critical attitude towards the surrounding reality; the desire to test everything in practice, to logically prove the correctness or incorrectness of a particular thought; rejection of the foundations of the old, traditional civilization; denial of old traditions, habits, rules based on unproven knowledge; the desire to prove the conventionality of the state and rights, their imperfection; perception of moral norms not as an absolute given, but as a subject of criticism; subjectivism in assessments and judgments, denial of objective existence and attempts to prove that reality exists only in human thoughts.

3. Sophistry as the main logical device of the sophists.

An example of this conclusion is the “horned” sophism: “What you haven’t lost, you have, you haven’t lost horns; that means you have them.”

This result is achieved not as a result of paradox, the logical difficulty of sophism, but as a result of incorrect use of logical semantic operations. In this sophism, the first premise is false, but is presented as correct, hence the result.

4. The significance of the activities of the sophists.

took a critical look at the surrounding reality;

disseminated a large amount of philosophical and other knowledge among the citizens of Greek city-states (for which they were later called the ancient Greek enlighteners).

5. Philosophy of Protagoras.

Nothing exists outside human consciousness; nothing is given once and for all;

what is good for a person today is good in reality; if tomorrow what is good today becomes bad, then it means that it is harmful and bad in reality; the entire surrounding reality depends on the sensory perception of a person (“What is good for a healthy person it will seem sweet, to the sick it will seem bitter"); the world around us is relative; objective (true) knowledge is unattainable; there is only a world of opinion.

One of Protagoras’ contemporaries is credited with creating the work “Double Speeches,” which also leads to the idea of the relativity of being and knowledge (“Disease is evil for the sick, but good for doctors”; “Death is evil for the dying, but good for gravediggers and undertakers.” ) and teaches the young man to achieve victory in an argument in any situation.

Protagoras’s attitude towards the forests was also original and revolutionary for that time: “I cannot know about the gods whether they exist or not, because too many things hinder such knowledge - the question is dark, and human life is short.”

6. Philosophy of Socrates.

The most respected of the philosophers related to sophistry was Socrates (469 - 399 BC). Socrates did not leave significant philosophical works, but went down in history as an outstanding polemicist, sage, and philosopher-teacher. The main method developed and applied by Socrates was called “maieutics”. The essence of maieutics is not to teach the truth, but to, through logical techniques and leading questions, lead the interlocutor to independently find the truth.

Socrates conducted his philosophy and educational work in the midst of the people, in squares, markets in the form of an open conversation (dialogue, dispute), the topics of which were topical problems of that time, relevant today: good; evil; Love; happiness; honesty, etc. The philosopher was a supporter of ethical realism, according to which:

any knowledge is good;

any evil or vice is committed out of ignorance.

Socrates was not understood by the official authorities and was perceived by them as an ordinary sophist, undermining the foundations of society, confusing young people and not honoring the gods. For this he was in 399 BC. sentenced to death and took a cup of poison - hemlock.

The historical significance of Socrates' activities is that he:

contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and education of citizens;

looked for answers to the eternal problems of humanity - good and evil, love, honor, etc.;

discovered the maieutics method, widely used in modern education;

introduced a dialogical method of finding truth - by proving it in a free debate, and not declared, as a number of previous philosophers did;

He educated many students who continued his work (for example, Plato), and stood at the origins of a number of so-called “Socratic schools.”

7. “Socratic schools.”

"Socratic schools" - philosophical teachings, formed under the influence of the ideas of Socrates and developed by his students. The “Socratic schools” include:

Plato's Academy; Cynic school; Cyrene school; Ligarian school; Elido-Erythrian school.

Plato Academy – religious and philosophical school, created by Plato in 385 BC, which aimed to study philosophical problems, venerate the gods and muses and existed until the 6th century. AD (about 1000 years).

The most famous representatives of the Cynics were Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope (nicknamed by Plato “Socrates gone mad”).

Cyrene school – founded in the 4th century BC. Aristippus of Cyrene, student of Socrates. Representatives of this school (Cyrenaic):

opposed the study of nature;

pleasure was considered the highest good;

Accordingly, the goal of life was seen as pleasure, happiness was perceived as the totality of pleasure, wealth as a means to achieve pleasure.

Megara school founded by Socrates' student Euclid of Megara in the 4th century. BC. Representatives: Eubulides, Diodorus Cronus.

The Megarians believed that there was an abstract supreme good that defies precise description - God, reason, life energy. The opposite of the highest good (absolute evil) does not exist.

In addition to philosophical theoretical research, the Megarians carried out active practical activities (in fact, they were engaged in sophistry) and received the nickname “disputants.”

Representatives of the Megarian school (Eubulides) became the authors of well-known aporias, that is, paradoxes (not to be confused with sophisms) - “Heap” and “Bald”, with the help of which they tried to understand the dialectic of the transition of quantity into quality.

Aporia “Heap”: “If you throw grain on the ground and add one grain at a time, then at what point does a heap appear in this place? Can a collection of grains become a heap after adding one grain?”

Aporia “Bald”: “If one hair falls out of a person’s head, then at what point does he become bald? Is it possible to determine a specific hair, after the loss of which a person becomes bald? Is it possible to establish a line separating “not yet bald” and “already bald”?

"Sophists and Sophistry"

Introduction

In the 5th century BC e. In many Greek cities, slave-owning democracy was established, replacing the ancient aristocracy in power. New elected institutions arose: popular assemblies and courts, which were of great importance in the struggle of classes and parties of the free population. There was a need for people who mastered the art of speech to participate in judicial and political affairs. They had to be able to convince, prove, understand legal issues, know the intricacies of political life, and master diplomatic practice. Some of them, who successfully completed their tasks (lawyers, diplomats, masters of eloquence), became teachers of rhetoric and political knowledge. Their training in legal and political activity was closely connected with general questions of philosophy and worldview.

Special prerequisites were created for the flourishing of eloquence. The speaker needed to attract attention and present his ideas and beliefs in an attractive way. In public decisions on political and judicial issues, the one who had the gift of eloquence and the ability to win over listeners often won. It was necessary to speak beautifully and convincingly at the People's Assembly, in front of soldiers, as well as at crowded festivals and friendly meetings. Therefore, there was a need for people who taught eloquence and composed texts of speeches. They became sophists - philosophers-educators, excellent in the art of oratory, the laws of logic and able to influence the assembled listeners with their words.

Sophists - a symbol for a group of ancient Greek thinkers. V - 1st floor. IV centuries BC e. It's their time active work often called the Age of Greek Enlightenment. Initially, the word was synonymous with the word (“wise”) and denoted a person with authority in various matters of private and public life. From the middle of the 5th century. Sophists began to be called the paid teachers of eloquence and all kinds of knowledge that appeared at that time, considered necessary for active participation in civil life, who themselves often actively participated in political life.

2. Sophistry as a phenomenon ancient greek culture and philosophy

.1 Interpretation of the concept of “sophistry”

The terms “sophistry” and “sophists” come from the ancient Greek word for “wisdom.” Literally translated, the word “sophist” means “sage, master, expert.”

Sophistry -

) the teaching of representatives that developed in Athens in the second half of the 5th century. BC. schools of sophists - educational philosophers who gravitated towards relativism, the first professional teachers of general education.

) (Greek sophisma - fabrication, cunning) - the deliberate use in a dispute and in evidence of false arguments based on a deliberate violation of logical rules (sophisms); misleading verbal tricks.

The first schools of oratory arose in the cities of Sicily, and development in the 5th century. BC e. democracy in Athens and connections with other Greek cities made Athens a public arena for speeches and teaching activities sophists.

Sophist teachers were very popular in Ancient Greece. They went on trips throughout the country on diplomatic missions, engaged in government activities, speaking to people and teaching those who wished the basics of eloquence.

“Wandering teachers of eloquence”, “the first European intellectuals”, as A.F. called the sophists. Losev, were engaged in rhetorical pedagogy - the practice of mastering speech skills. Their didactic activities united heterogeneous groups of people both in age and social status. In the process of upbringing, not only physical and spiritual perfection was now important, but also education, which led to its widespread distribution. The gift of speech began to be perceived as a sign and an indispensable condition for a full, good education. A truly educated person, " the best way brought up for philosophy and literature,” “suddenly, in any place of speech, he will throw... like a mighty shooter, some wonderful saying, short and concise, and the interlocutor will turn out to be no better than a child,” says Plato’s famous dialogue “Protagoras "

The sophists first spoke in Greece about the power of words and built a theory of this power. Many of them were virtuosos in using the theory of words in life, they created treatises on this topic. Plato, in his treatise Gorgias, argued that the art of the Sophists is a greater good than all other arts; considering that the sophist is “a master of persuasion: this is his whole essence and all his concern,” who ... “has the ability to convince with words both judges in court, ... and in any other assembly of citizens, ... and as for our businessman, it turns out that he is not making money for himself, but for someone else and for you, who has a command of the word and the ability to convince the crowd.”

It is believed that the sophists did not have a complete, defined system of knowledge. Sophistry did not represent a single circle of thinkers. Sophistry of the 5th century - “a complex of efforts independent from each other, satisfying identical requests by appropriate means.” Their works have practically not survived; most of the information about the works of the sophists is contained in the works of philosophers of later times.

2.2 Philosophical views sophists

To justify their practical activities, the sophists relied on philosophy. Characteristic feature their philosophy is the affirmation of the relativity of all human concepts, ethical standards and ratings. They introduced relativism into the theory of knowledge, which led the sophists to deny objective truth. Therefore, an objective truth common to everyone is impossible. There is no objective criterion of good and evil: what benefits someone is good for him: “Disease is evil for the sick, but good for doctors. Death is evil for those who are dying, but for sellers of things needed for funerals and for gravediggers it is good.”

The sophists understood perfectly well that everything could be proven purely formally. The main goal Sophists' didactic activity was teaching students to argue. Therefore, during the preparation process, much attention was paid to rhetoric. Students learned methods of proof and refutation and became familiar with the rules of logical thinking.

The philosophy of the Sophists was humanistic. It is important to emphasize that the sophists paid a lot of attention to social issues, man and communication problems, teaching eloquence and political activity, as well as scientific and philosophical knowledge. Some sophists used techniques and forms of persuasion and evidence, regardless of the question of the truth of the propositions being proven. But in their desire to convince their interlocutor, the sophists reached the idea that it was possible to prove and disprove anything, depending on interest and circumstances, which sometimes led to a distortion of the truth in proofs and refutations. Gradually, methods of thinking emerged that came to be called sophistry.

The Sophists paid almost no attention to the study of nature. But they were the first to distinguish between the laws of nature, as something unshakable, and the laws of society, which arise by human institution.

The Sophists found beauty in infinitely varied phenomena human life. But these phenomena were contradictory. To use eloquent words, to amaze the listener with unexpected metaphors and oratorical techniques in general, to arouse anger and indignation both in an individual and in a crowd, and at the same time, with the help of convincing artistry, to calm human suffering and free him from vain complaints - these are the new ways along which the aesthetics of the Sophists followed.

2.3 “Senior” sophists as teachers and researchers of the art of speech

Some activity researchers ancient Greek philosophers There are three groups of sophists:

) major famous masters of the first generation, not at all devoid of moral restrictions;

) so-called “erists”, i.e. disputants who insisted on the formal aspect of the method, which aroused indignation, because, losing interest in the content of concepts, they inevitably lost the moral context;

) “sophist-politicians” who utilized sophistic ideas, in modern expression, into an ideological complex, and therefore fell into excesses of various kinds, which often ended in direct theorization of immoralism.

Taking into account the historical sequence in the history of Russian philosophical thought, two groups of sophists are distinguished: “senior” and “younger”.

The “senior sophists” explored political, ethical, state, and legal problems, and studied linguistics. They questioned all the principles existing before their time, and declared the truths relative. In the concept of the “senior” sophists, the subjective nature and relativity of knowledge are absolutized.

The sophists studied the problem of being not as a problem of matter: they started talking about being for themselves, but earlier being was developed - in itself. In the Sophists, the ancient spirit first turns to itself, within itself.

Many sophists doubted the existence of gods or even denied them, considering them a human invention. Sophistry by its nature is anti-dogmatic, and any religion is built on dogma. The Sophists played an important role in destroying traditional religious dogmas.

The older group of sophists tried to critically examine religious beliefs. It is known that Protagoras said: “About the Gods I have no opportunity to assert either that they exist or that they do not exist.” The basis of his method was the ability to demonstrate both arguments in favor of the existence of Gods and against it. This does not mean that he is an atheist, as they already concluded about him in ancient times, but only that he was an agnostic.

Protagoras's work on the gods, despite the extremely careful formulation of religious skepticism, was publicly burned and became the reason for the philosopher's expulsion from Athens.

Prodicus, developing the views of Anaxagoras and Democritus, began to interpret religious myths as the personification of the forces of nature.

Common features in the philosophy of the “senior” sophists:

· the movement of philosophical interests from the sphere of natural philosophy to the field of ethics, politics, and theory of knowledge;

· the study of the person himself and his subjective characteristics.

2.3.1 Protagoras as "teacher of wisdom"

The “elder” group includes the ancient Greek philosopher-sophist Protagoras from Abdera in Thrace (c. 481 - c. 411 BC), whose teachings were based on the teachings of Democritus, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Empedocles, revised in the spirit of relativism. He was the first to call himself a “sophist” - “a teacher of the science of virtue.” It is known that Protagoras wrote the books “On the Gods”, “On Truth”, “The Science of Dispute”, “On the Original Order of Things”, “On the State”, “On the Virtues”, “On Existence”.

Protagoras had the most pronounced philosophical thinking among the Sophists. It is believed that Protagoras was a materialist, arguing about the fluidity of matter, the relativity of perception, and the equal reality of existence and non-existence. According to Protagoras, matter flows and changes, and with its variability and fluidity, something comes to the place of what has gone, and accordingly they are transformed according to the age or state of the bodies of perception. The essence of all phenomena is hidden in matter, and matter can be everything that it appears to everyone. According to Protagoras, the initial metaphysical attitudes can be distinguished:

· by determining the nature and method of which “self”

(person) is a person;

· essential interpretation of the being of beings;

· the project of truth as a phenomenon of knowledge;

· the sense in which a person turns out to be a measure in relation to being and in relation to truth.

According to Protagoras, everything is relative: no absolute truth and there are no absolutes moral values, good. However, there is something that is more useful, more acceptable, and therefore more appropriate. A sage is one who understands the usefulness of the relative, acceptable and appropriate, knows how to convince others of this and actualize this usefulness.

The sophist-philosopher Protagoras argued: “Man is the measure of all things: existing - in the fact that they exist, - and non-existent - in that they do not exist,” believing that every person existing on earth has his own special truth (the principle of man -measures). By measure, Protagoras understood a certain “norm of judgment,” and by things, facts and experience in general. With this famous axiom Protagoras denied absolute criterion who distinguished existence from non-existence, truth from lies. The criterion is only a person, an individual: “as individual things appear before me, such they are for me, as before you, such they are for you.” Is the wind blowing, for example, warm or cold? The answer, in the spirit of Protagoras, should be: “Whoever is cold is cold, whoever is not is warm.” And if so, then neither one nor the other is false, everything is true, i.e. true in its own way.

Protagoras talked about the democratic system of government and substantiated the idea of equality free people. In 444 or 443 BC. e. Protagoras visited Athens and, at the request of Pericles, wrote a code of laws for a new Greek colony called Thurii in southern Italy. It is interesting that these laws did not change for a long time, because Protagoras introduced a trick: if a person wants to change or abolish an old law, or come up with a new one, he must present his reasons and, putting a noose around his neck, wait for the decision of the citizens. The proposal is accepted - everything is in order, if the changes are rejected, then... Well.... He chose his fate by wearing a rope with a noose around his neck.

Protagoras argued: every statement is opposed by a statement that contradicts it (about every thing, every object, “there are two opinions opposite to each other”). Using such opposing opinions, the sophist philosopher created the art of philosophical dialogue, which was later given special brilliance by Socrates and Plato. Protagoras’ idea about the deep origin of dialogue is interesting. “He was the first to say that there are two opinions about every thing, opposite to each other. He composed a dialogue from them, being the first to use this method of presentation.” According to Protagoras, it is clear that the dialogic artistic form arises from the contradictions that lie in the depths of things themselves.

The skill that Protagoras taught lay precisely in this ability to give weight and meaning to any point of view, as well as the one opposing it. And his success is due to the fact that his students, trained in this ability, mastered ever new possibilities in public tribunals, assemblies and political life in general.

It is believed that Protagoras taught how one can “beat a stronger one with a weaker argument.” But this does not mean that the goal was to overwhelm justice and rightness with lawlessness and injustice. He demonstrated how technically and methodologically it is possible to strengthen positions and achieve victory using an initially weak argument.

According to Diogenes Laertius (3rd century BC), Protagoras “was the first to use arguments in disputes”, “began to organize competitions in disputes and came up with tricks for the litigants; he didn’t care about thoughts, he argued about words.” Eloquence Requires enormous work. Protagoras explains this beautifully: “Labour, work, learning, education and wisdom form the crown of glory, which is woven from the flowers of eloquence and placed on the heads of those who love it. It is true that language is difficult, but its flowers are rich and always new, and spectators applaud and teachers rejoice when students make progress, and fools get angry - or maybe sometimes they don’t get angry, because they are not insightful enough.”

Protagoras saw in the word the main basis for human power, believing that it is possible “with the power of words to transform a bad deed into a valiant one.”

In Protagoras, every speech is divided into four separate parts: request, question, answer and command. These are attempts at a separate aesthetic assessment of human speech, which will later play a large role in ancient rhetoric, and then in world grammar and stylistics.

2.3.2 "Father of Sophistry" Gorgias

Gorgias of Leontina (presumably 485-380 BC) is considered the creator of rhetoric. The sophist-philosopher defined rhetoric as the art of speeches and worked a lot on the theory of judicial and political eloquence. A true orator, according to Gorgias, must be able to both praise and blame the same thing.

Gorgias himself became famous for a speech delivered before the People's Assembly of Athens in 427 BC. e. Warning the Athenians about the danger looming over their homeland, he surprised the citizens with skillfully spoken words and skillfully selected examples.

Gorgias, in his essay “On the Non-Existent, or On Nature,” declared that “nothing exists at all,” including nature itself. He argued that being does not exist, that even if we assume being to exist, it still cannot be known, that even if we recognize being as existing and knowable, it is still impossible to communicate what is known to other people. In this philosophical work, Gorgias substantiated three paradoxical theses:

· nothing exists;

· even if something existed, a person could not know it;

· even if he could know, he would not be able to express it in words and prove it to other people.

Having destroyed the very possibility of achieving absolute truth, Gorgias was in search of the path of reason, limited to illuminating facts, circumstances, situations in the lives of people and the city. According to the sophist, this is “not a science that gives definitions and absolute rules, and not wandering individualism... This is an analysis of situations, a description of what should and should not be done... Gorgias is one of the first representatives of the ethics of situations, the essence of which in that responsibilities depend on the moment, era, social characteristics; the same action is both good and bad, depending on what it relates to.”

Separately, there is a curious judgment of Gorgias about beauty and art: “The outstanding beauty of something hidden is revealed when wise artists cannot paint it with their tried and tested colors. For their enormous work and great tireless labor provides satisfactory proof of how beautiful it is in its mystery. And if individual stages of their work have reached the end, then they silently give him again a wreath of victory. And what no one’s hand grasps and no one’s eye sees, how can the tongue express it or perceive the listener’s ear?” Gorgias wants to say here that true beauty is inexpressible by any means, even artistic, but always remains something mysterious; its artistic expression, no matter how perfect it may be, only confirms its mysterious nature. The possibility of such reasoning for Gorgias follows from the very great sensitivity of the sophists to the phenomenon of all beauty in general (According to Losev).

Gorgias's position on rhetoric was also new. If there is no absolute truth and everything is false, the word has almost limitless power, as long as it is not connected with being. The theoretical discovery of Gorgias consists in the discovery of the word as a carrier of persuasion, belief and suggestion, regardless of its truth. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, i.e. that which uses the possibilities of the word. This art in Greece of the 5th century was a true “steering wheel in the hands of a statesman.” The politician was therefore called a rhetorician, capable of persuading judges in tribunals, advisers in the Council, members of the people's assembly, his citizens in any community. The significance of rhetoric is obvious, just as the unprecedented success of Gorgias is clear to us. Thus, Gorgias, in his speech “Praise to Helen,” writes: “The Word is a great ruler who, possessing a very small and completely invisible body, performs the most wonderful deeds. For it can instill fear, destroy sadness, instill joy, and awaken compassion.”

Gorgias was the first philosopher who sought the theoretical meaning of what is now called the aesthetic value of words and the essence of poetry. "Poetry in her various forms“,” he said, “I call it a certain dimensional judgment, and the one who listens is captured, trembling with fear, compassionate, shedding tears, trembling with grief, his soul suffers from the action of words, the happiness and misfortune of others become his own.” .

Gorgias is famous for creating artistic means of expression - tropes and figures of speech as exquisite decorations for what is said. He used all sorts of artificial, pretentious and subtle expressions, which later became known as the “Gorgian style.” Gorgias invented the colon - a rhythmic-intonation unit of speech: the number of words pronounced in one breath. He is considered the creator of artistic prose: he combined poetic style with prose. The golden statue of Gorgias, which was erected in Delphi, confirms the services of this sophist to Greek culture, as well as the prominent role that Gorgias played in historical fate Athens. Here is how A.F. Losev writes about the rhetorical activity of Gorgias, relying on ancient sources: “He was the first to introduce the type of education that prepares orators, special training in the ability and art of speaking, and he was the first to use tropes, metaphors, allegories, and the misuse of words in improper sense, inversions, secondary doublings, repetitions, apostrophes...” Being himself a virtuoso of brevity, Gorgias taught everyone to speak well so that they would be able to conquer people, “to make them their slaves of their own free will, and not by force. By the power of his conviction, he forced the sick to drink such bitter medicines and undergo such operations that even doctors could not force them to do.”

2.3.3 Hippias as one of the representatives of the Greek Enlightenment

Hippias (?????)from Elis (470s - after 399 BC), Greek sophist, younger contemporary of Protagoras. He is considered one of the most erudite and versatile representatives of the Greek Enlightenment.

Hippias paid a lot of attention to rhetoric. The naturalness and entertaining nature of the story were his main strength; he more than once went to different cities with large political assignments and always performed successfully. He traveled throughout Greece as a teacher and speaker, thus amassing a large fortune. He took an active part in government affairs, traveled with embassies to Athens, Sparta and other cities, gave public lectures on the genealogies of heroes and local noble families, and on the founding of cities in ancient times. Hippias wrote works on mathematics, astronomy, meteorology, grammar, poetry, music, mythology and history. He worked on the creation of epics, tragedies and dithyrambs. He wrote poems, songs, a variety of prose and was an expert in rhythm, harmony, spelling and mnemonics. Despite the diversity of his interests, Hippias basically remained a sophist, since he sharply contrasted the tyrannical law with supposedly free nature. He taught the science of the nature of legislation, believing that knowledge about nature is indispensable for success in life, that in life one should be guided by the laws of nature, and not by human institutions. Nature unites people, but law rather separates them. The law is devalued to the extent that it is opposed to nature. A distinction emerges between law and the law of nature, natural and positive law. The natural is eternal, the second is accidental. Thus, the beginning appears for the subsequent desacralization of human laws that require examination. However, Hippias draws more positive conclusions than negative ones. He finds, for example, that, based on natural law, it makes no sense to separate the citizens of one city from the citizens of another, or to discriminate against citizens within the same city.

2.3.4 Prodicus's interest in language

The Sophists dealt a lot with the theory of words, so they can be considered the first Greek philologists. Prodicus especially delved into verbal semantics.

Prodicus of Keos (c. 470-after 400 BC) - Greek sophist. In 431 or 421 BC. e. received great acclaim in Athens. He developed Protagoras's teaching on correct speech. Prodicus worked on synonymy, emphasizing the differences between words with similar lexical meanings. The only work of Prodicus that is known reliably is “The Seasons,” the name of which he associated with the goddesses of the seasons, revered on Keos.

The philosopher-sophist argued that the emergence of agriculture led to the development of human culture. He presented a theory of the origin of religion. Protagoras proclaimed a theory of divine honors for things useful to people (a type of fetishism) and for their inventors (a theory later called euphemerism). He was the first to explain the origin of religion psychological reasons(feeling of gratitude). His understanding of the gods is original. According to Prodicus, the gods are nothing more than a “hypostatization of the useful and beneficial”: “The ancients invented the gods due to the superiority and redundancy that flowed from them: the sun, the moon, the sources of all the forces that influence our lives, such as the Nile on life of the Egyptians."

In ethics he became famous for his interpretation of sophistic doctrine through the example of the familiar myth of Hercules, who at the crossroads makes a choice between virtue and vice, where virtue was interpreted as the appropriate means of achieving true gain and real benefit.

2.3.5 Proclamation of the idea of equality of people in the writings of Antiphon

Antiphon from Athens (2nd half of the 5th century BC) is an ancient Greek sophist philosopher of the older generation, who wrote the works: “Truth”, “On Concord”, “Speech on the State”, “Interpretation of Dreams”.

The main philosophical work “Truth” consisted of two books: 1 - general principles and theory of knowledge; 2- physics, anthropology, ethics. Argued that the antithesis of truth - opinion correlates with the antithesis nature-law. As a result, all socio-legal “establishments”, laws and “generally accepted norms” of morality turn out to be a conventional fiction, “hostile” to human nature. Nature is understood as natural inclinations, biological instincts and declares itself in the well-known hedonistic postulate: maximum pleasure, minimum suffering. “Justice” is hypocritical and forced observance of laws; therefore, “for a person, the most beneficial way of using justice is this: in the presence of witnesses, respect the laws, and without witnesses, the requirements of nature. The superiority of “nature over “law”” leads Antiphon to the idea of the equality of all people and the untruth of class and racial privileges: “By nature, we are all built the same in everything - both barbarians and Hellenes,” “we all breathe air through our mouth and nose and eat with our hands "

Antiphon placed nature above the law and opposed it to state power and social institutions. He not only developed a materialistic explanation of the principles of nature and the origin of its bodies and elements, but also tried to criticize cultural phenomena, defending the advantages of nature over the institutions of culture and over art.

In his essay “Truth,” Antiphon set forth astronomical and meteorological views (the doctrine of the origin of the world from a vortex) and argued that “everything is one.” He denied the objective existence of individual things and time. He understood ethics as “the art of being carefree.”

2.4 general characteristics"younger" sophists

In exercises junior sophists(4th century BC), about which extremely scanty information has been preserved, their ethical and social ideas.

· Lycophron and Alcidamant opposed the barriers between social classes: Lycophron argued that nobility is a fiction, and Alcidamant argued that nature did not create anyone as slaves and that people are born free. Lycophron, speaking out against the aristocracy, put forward the thesis that “nobility” is only a fiction, it by nature does not reveal itself in any way, but is based only on opinion; “In truth, the ignoble and the noble are no different from each other.”

· Thrasymachus extended the doctrine of relativity to social and ethical norms and reduced justice to what is useful for the strong, arguing that each power establishes laws useful to itself: democracy - democratic, and tyranny - tyrannical, etc. Following Prodicus, who is natural In this way he tried to explain the emergence of religion (“the sun, the moon, rivers, springs and in general everything that is useful to our life, the ancestors considered deities, like the Egyptians - the Nile”), Thrasymachus openly comes out on the side of atheism. He says “that the gods do not see human affairs: for they could not fail to notice the greatest asset of people - justice; What we see is that people don’t resort to it.”

2.5 Evaluation of the activities of the sophists

The sophists paid great attention not only to the practice, but also to the theory of eloquence. They taught that “speeches should be neither long nor short, but in moderation”, they used antithesis and consonance of endings; they paid attention to the conciseness and roundness of thought, the rhythm of speech, studied oratorical vocabulary, as well as the impact of speech on feelings. The sophists knew how to destroy an opponent's argument with ridicule, and to respond to his ridicule with dignity.

Initially, the word “sophist” was used to describe people skilled in any task - poets, musicians, legislators, sages. Subsequently, those who, in speeches addressed to listeners, sought not to clarify the truth, but to present lies as truth, opinions as reliable truth, superficiality as knowledge.

The sophists laid the foundations of rhetoric as the science of oratory. To master eloquence, certain techniques were proposed. According to the sophists, the goal of the speaker is not to reveal the truth, but to be persuasive. The task of the sophist is to teach “to make a weak opinion strong.” Hence the meaning of the word sophistry - a deliberately false conclusion. The one who makes a speech, by the power of his word, must make “small things seem big, and big things small, new things seem ancient, and ancient things new,” he can make people “his slaves of their own free will, and not by force.”

Sophistry (from Greek s ó phisma - trick, trick, invention, puzzle) a conclusion or reasoning that substantiates some deliberate absurdity, absurdity or paradoxical statement that contradicts generally accepted ideas. Aristotle called sophisms “imaginary proofs,” in which the validity of the conclusion is apparent and is due to a purely subjective impression caused by a lack of logical or semantic analysis.

Here is one example of the sophism of the ancients, attributed to Eubulides: “What you have not lost, you have. You didn't lose your horns. So you have horns." This is where ambiguity is masked. If it is thought of as universal: “Everything you haven’t lost...”, then the conclusion is logically flawless; if it is thought of as private, then the conclusion does not follow logically. But here is a modern sophism that substantiates that with age, “years of life” not only seem to be, but are actually shorter: “Every year of your life is its 1/n part, where n is the number of years you have lived. But n + 1>n. Therefore, 1/(n + 1)<1/ n».

It is impossible to talk about the unambiguous characterization of the activities of the sophists. Evaluating the sophists as philosophers, modern researchers determine the negative and positive sides of their actions:

Accusations against the Sophists “Defense” (a positive result of the activities of the Sophists) 1. They pursued purely practical goals, and for them it was essential to look for students for “profit” They brought to the fore the problem of education, and pedagogical activity acquired a new meaning They argued that virtue is not given by birth and does not depend on the nobility of blood, but is based only on knowledge. For the Sophists, the study of truth was tantamount to its dissemination.2 They charged a fee for teaching, because knowledge was understood as a product of disinterested spiritual communication, the occupation of rich and noble people who had already solved their life problems. The Sophists destroyed the old social scheme , which made culture accessible only to select layers, opening up the possibility of cultural penetration into other layers of society. Sophists engaged in knowledge as a craft and therefore had to demand payment in order to live, to travel. 3. Sophists were reproached for vagrancy, for disrespect for their hometown, to which they were attached was a kind of ethical dogma for the Greeks until that time. The Sophists were aware of the narrow boundaries of the polis; pushing them apart, they became bearers of the panhellenistic principle, felt themselves not only citizens of their city, but also of Hellas. 4. They violated traditions, norms and codifications. The sophists proclaimed freedom of spirit and demonstrated unlimited faith in reason. Earned the title of Greek “enlightenment”

“Sophist” - this term, in itself positive, meaning “wise”, sophisticated, expert of knowledge, later began to be used as negative, especially in the context of the polemics between Plato and Aristotle.

After all, in the beginning the sophists

· taught the correct methods of proof and refutation,

· discovered a number of rules of logical thinking,

· but they soon moved away from the logical principles of its organization and focused all their attention on the development of logical tricks based on the external similarity of phenomena, on the fact that an event is extracted from the general connection of events, on the polysemy of words, on the substitution of concepts, etc.

Some, like Socrates, considered the knowledge of the sophists to be superficial and ineffective, since they lacked the disinterested goal of seeking truth as such, but in modern conditions their true historical significance was determined.

Conclusion

The historical significance of sophistry for the development of philosophy and culture.

Most importantly, the sophists shifted the axis of philosophical research from space to man. The grandeur of space receded into the background. Human life and the human personality with their endless chaos and diversity, with their inconstancy, far from cosmic greatness, came to the fore.

The old image of man in the pre-philosophical poetic tradition was destroyed by the Sophists, but a new one has not yet appeared:

· Protagoras associated man mainly with sensuality,

· Gorgias thought of man as a subject of mobile emotions, moving in any direction.

The sophists spoke about nature, about man as a biological animal nature, while keeping silent about his spiritual nature. In order to find himself again, a person had to find a more solid foundation.

The Sophists rejected the old Gods, but, abandoning the search for the beginning, they moved towards the denial of the divine in general:

· Protagoras settled on agnosticism,

· Prodicus already sees the Gods as an exaggeration of benefits,

· Critias - as an ideological image of politicians.

It is clear: in order to think about the divine, it was necessary to look for a different, higher sphere.

The same can be said about truth:

· Protagoras divided logos into “two arguments” and revealed that logos posits and opposes.

· Gorgias rejected logos as thinking, and retained it only as a magical word, but he also found that the word, with the help of which one can say everything and also refute everything, does not truly express anything. Thought and word have lost their subject and their order, being and truth have been lost. Word and thought had to restore themselves to a higher level.

The significance of sophistry for the history of philosophical thought is the opening up for critical discussion of new topics in epistemology, philosophy of language, ethics, sociology and political theory:

· the reliability of sensory ideas and judgments of the mind, as well as their expression in language,

· the relativity of truth in relation to various subjects, circumstances of place and time, ethnic characteristics,

· the relationship between universal principles and norms established by people in the field of ethics, language, public institutions,

· criteria for choice in the moral field (the influence of pleasure on behavior, the nature of utilitarian calculation in the choice of actions),

· the principles on which social life is based,

· the motives that led to the emergence of society, the essence of the gods and the origin of religion.

Thus, the Greek sophists are “deep thinkers” who contributed to changing the philosophy of the teaching of nature into the field of ethics and theory of knowledge. Denying absolute truth, they for the first time paid significant attention to the study of the subjective world of man.

List of used literature

oratory art philosophical

1.Ancient philosophy: Encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Progress-Tradition. P. P. Gaidenko, M. A. Solopova, S. V. Mesyats, A. V. Seregin, A. A. Stolyarov, Yu. A. Shichalin. 2008

2.Asmus V.F. Ancient philosophy (history of philosophy). - M.: Higher. School, 2003

3.Akhmanov A. S., Aristotle’s logical doctrine, M., 1960.

4.Akhmanov A.S. Aristotle's logical doctrine. - M., 1960

5.Belkin M.V., O. Plakhotskaya. Dictionary "Ancient Writers". St. Petersburg: Lan Publishing House, 1998

6.Bogomolov A.S. Ancient philosophy. - M., 1985

7.Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969 -1978

8.Bradis V.M., Minkovsky V.L., Kharcheva L.K. Errors in mathematical reasoning. - M., 1967

V. S. Stepina. 2001

9.Grinenko G.V. History of philosophy. - M.: 2004. - 688 p.

10.Grinenko G.V. History of philosophy. 3rd edition. - M., 2011

.J. Reale and D. Antiseri. Western philosophy from its origins to the present day. I Antiquity. - TK Petropolis LLP, 1997

.Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics in 8 volumes. Volume 2: Sophists. Socrates. Platon. - M., 1969.

.Small academic dictionary. - M.: Institute of Russian Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Evgenieva A. P., 1957-1984

.Minkovsky V.L., Kharcheva L.K., Errors in mathematical reasoning, 3rd ed., M., 1967

.Mikhalskaya A.K. Russian Socrates: Lectures on comparative historical rhetoric. M., 1996

.New Philosophical Encyclopedia: In 4 vols. M.: Thought. Edited by

.Plato. - Folio, AST, 2000

.Plato. Collected works in 4 volumes. T. 1. - M.: Thought. - 1990.

.Spirkin A.G. Philosophy: textbook / A.G. Spirkin. - 2nd ed. M.: Gardariki, 2008

.Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary / Ed. A.A. Ivina. - M.: Gardariki, 2004.

.Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F.V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970.

Tutoring

Need help studying a topic?

Our specialists will advise or provide tutoring services on topics that interest you.
Submit your application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.

SOPHISTS

(from the Greek sophistes - sage) - they placed philosophy at the center. attention to the problems of man and society (second half of the 5th century - first half of the 4th century BC). In a democracy, the ability to speak publicly, persuade and persuade has become vital. S. was taught the art of defeating the enemy in disputes and litigation. And “in courts,” Plato would later say, “absolutely no one cares about the truth, only persuasiveness is important.” Therefore "S." has become reprehensible. Sophistry began to be understood as the ability to represent black as white, and white as black. S. were philosophers to the extent that they received their worldview.
At the same time, S. played a positive role in the spiritual development of Hellas. They are theorists and teachers of eloquence. Many of S. had an amazing gift of speech. Their merits are also great in the field of logic training. Defiantly violating the not yet discovered, S. contributed to their discovery. In epistemology, S. was consciously raised about how they relate to the world around us? S. answered this question in the negative: the world is unknowable. However, S. is limited by their relativism - the doctrine that everything in the world is relative, including relative and, because it depends on conditions, place and time, on circumstances and on a person.
S. was taught that everyone has their own truth. As it seems to some, it is so. S. rejected the objective criteria of good and evil. Whatever benefits someone is good, so is it. In the field of ethics, S. turned into.
S. divided what exists by nature and what exists according to human laws (not from nature). S. extended their relativism to religious faith. S. was traveling. And where they appeared, traditions were shaken. They themselves could prove today, and tomorrow -. This shocked the average person and awakened him from his dogmatic slumber. Everyone involuntarily asked the question: where is the truth?

S. is usually divided into senior and junior. Among the elders, Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, Antiphon, Xeniades stood out; among the younger ones are Alcidamas, Thrasymachus (Thrasymachus), Critias, Callicles. From numerous writings. S. has survived a little.. Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. 2004 .

SOPHISTS

Edited by A.A. Ivina symbol of a group in ancient Greek. thinkers ser. 5- 1st 4 floor. centuries before n. e. Initially Greek the word was synonymous with the word("wise") symbol of a group in ancient Greek. thinkers 5 and denoted a person with authority on various issues of private and public affairs. life. WITH centuries before S. began to be called the paid teachers of eloquence and all kinds of knowledge that appeared then that were considered necessary for active participation in citizen life of the team. S. incurred attacks from conservative societies. groups (accusation of impiety against Protagoras; depiction of Socrates as a typical S. in Aristophanes’ comedy “Clouds” and T. P.). Basic Op. S. have not reached us, and their views can be judged Ch. arr. according to the polemics that Plato and Aristotle and the later authors who were influenced by them conducted with them.

To the elders S. (2nd 5- 1st 5 and denoted a person with authority on various issues of private and public affairs. life. WITH centuries before) include Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, Antiphon, Critias. The next generation, the younger S., includes Lycophron, Alcidamantus, and Thrasymachus. Unknown S. owns what has come down to us Op."Double Speeches" The reasoning of the unknown S. is quoted verbatim by Iamblichus in “Protreptych.” Naturphilos. problems interested S. less than the thinkers of previous generations - most often they accepted the ideas of Ionian philosophy.

A common feature of S.'s teachings was relativism, which found classicism. in the position of Protagoras “- of all things.” This was facilitated by S.’s very activity: they had to teach the young man who turned to them to convincingly defend any t.zr., whatever he could need in his affairs. The basis of such training was the absence abs. truth and objective values. A comparison of contradictory norms that prevailed among different peoples, the rapid collapse of traditions. ideology in Initially cities undermined the idea of a single deity. morals law “Double Speeches” takes the relativity of the concepts of good and evil almost to the point of caricature: “Disease is for the sick, but good for doctors. Death is evil for those who are dying, but for sellers of things needed for funerals and for gravediggers it is good.” The most important role in S.’s worldview was played by nature, as a relatively constant element, man. law or establishment - changeable and arbitrary.

The emergence of S. and sophistry is associated with the needs of economics. and cultural development of antiquity. Greece - the growth of slavery, the need to overcome the stagnant traditions of family life, the need for new societies., political. and other figures, in a more specific, rational consideration of the problems of philosophy.

The degeneration of sophistry began already in the 4th century. BC. (Euthidemus and others). S. gradually turned into magicians, attempting to defend or refute any opinions with the help of sophisms and other methods (described in detail by Aristotle in Sophistic Refutations). Lit. is known under the name of “second sophistry.” during 2nd century AD, which sought to restore ideas and Greek. classics of the 5th–4th centuries. BC. It was distinguished by its learning, excellent knowledge of the previous Greek. literature; traditions of S. in their own. in the sense of the word it continued to a certain extent only in the person of Lucian.

Op.: Diels N. von, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 11 Aufl., V., 1964, Kap. 2, S. 79–90; Sophisti. Testimonianze e frammenti. Introduction, trad. e comm. a cura di M. Untersteiner, 1–3, Firenze, 1949–54; I'm so fisti. Frammenti e testimonianze, trad. di M. Timpanaro Cardini, Bari, 1954; I sofisti e Socrate. Una antologia dai frammenti e dalle testimonianze. A cura di F. Adorno, Torino, 1961; Makovelsky A. O., Sophists, vol. 1–2, Baku, 1940–41.

Lit.: S., as a transition from the first period of the Greek. Philosopher to its further development, in the book: Kozlov A. A., Philos. sketches, part 1, St. Petersburg, 1876, p. 121–40; Brentano T. F., Ancient. and modern S., trans. pp., St. Petersburg, 1886; Zelenogorsky F., Grech. tragedians and S., "Vera and", 1890, No. 10, p. 409–36; No. 11, p. 455–71; Gilyarov A. N., Grech. S..., "Teaching journal of Moscow University. Department of History and Philology," 1892, issue. 7; Savodnik V., K ist. Greek sophistry, "Issues of philosophy and psychology," 1895, book. 2 (27), p. 212–19; Golm, S., their followers and opponents, in: Ist. Greece since the Peloponnesian War, vol. 1, M., 1896, p. 155–76; Bogdashevsky D.I., Grech. S., "Proceedings of Kiev.. acad.", 1897, No. 8, p. 455–93; Novgorodtsev P.I., Politich. ideals of the ancient and new Gnost vol. 1, M., 1914, p. 35–60; Ulanov V. Ya., S. and Socrates, in the book: A book for reading on ancient times. history, part 1, M., 1916, p. 328–49; Chernyshev B.S., Sophists, M., 1929; History of Philosophy, vol. 1, M., 1940, sect. 2, ch. 3; Wesklein N., Die Sophisten und die Sophistik nach den Angaben Plato"s, Würzb., 1866 (Diss.); Siebeсk H. D., Problem des Wissens bei Socrates und die Sophistik, Halle, 1870; Chiappelli A., Per la storia della Sofistica greca, "Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie", 1890, Bd 3, S. 1–21, 240–74; Nestle W., Bemerkungen zu den Vorsokratikern und Sophisten, "Philologue", 1908, Bd 67, S. 531–81 ; his, Politik und Aufklärung in Griechenland im Ausgang des 5. Jahrhunderts vor Christ, "Neue Jahrbücher für das Klassische Altertum", 1909, Bd 23, S. 1–22; έγειν in seinem Verhältnis zur Philosophie des 5. Jahrhunderts, Lpz., 1912; Jaeger W. W., Das Ziel des Lebens in der griechischen Ethik von der Sophistik bis Aristoteles, "Neue Jahrbücher für das Klassische Altertum", 1913, Bd 31, S. 6 97– 705; Gunning S. R., De sophistis Graeciae praeceptoribus, Amst., 1915 (Diss.); Arnim H., Gerechtigkeit und Nutzen in der griechischen Aufklärungsphilosophie, Fr./M., 1910; Masson-Cursel P., La sophistique. Etude de philosophie comparée, "Revue de métaphysique et de morale", 1916, v. 23, p. 343–62; Geffcken J., Die griechische Aufklärung, "Neue Jahrbücher für das Klassische Altertum", 1923, Bd 51–52, S. 15–31; Faggi A., L""essere" e il "non essere" neila sofistica greca, "Atti Accademia della scienze di Torino. Clase di scienze morali", 1926, v. 61, p. 215–30; Mewaldt J., Kulturkampf der Sophisten, Tübingen, 1928; Mieli A., L"epoca dei sofisti e la personalità di Socrate, "Archeion", 1929 , t. 11, p. 178–89; Hoffmann E., Der pädagogische Gedanke bei den Sophisten und Sokrates, "Neue Jahrbücher für Wissenschaft und Jugendbildung", 1930, Bd 6, S. 59–68; Levi A., Sulla Sofistica. Studi introduttivi, "Sophia", 1938, v. 6, p. 325–56; Saitta G., L "illuminismo della sofistica greca, Mil., 1938; Antonelli M. T., Figure di Sofisti in Platone, Torino, 1948; Buccellato M., Per una interpretazione speculativa della retorica sofistica, in the collection: Studi di filosofia greca, Bari, 1950, 181–213; Untersteiner M., Le origini sociale della sofistica, ibid., p. 121–80; Rassegna di studi sofistici, 1953, v. . 100–29, 209–24.

A. Losev. Moscow.

Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F. V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .

SOPHISTS

SOPHISTS - a symbol for a group of ancient Greek thinkers. 5th-1st floor 4th centuries BC e. The time of their active work is often called the age of the Greek Enlightenment. Initially, the word σοφιστής was synonymous with the word σοφός (“wise”) and denoted a person with authority in various matters of private and public life. From the middle of the 5th century. Sophists began to be called the paid teachers of eloquence and all kinds of knowledge that appeared at that time, considered necessary for active participation in civil life, who themselves often actively participated in political life. The sophists incurred attacks from conservative social groups (accusations of impiety against Protagoras, the portrayal of Socrates as a typical sophist in Aristophanes' comedy "The Clouds", etc.). The main works of the Sophists have not reached us, and their views can be judged in Chap. O. according to the polemics that Plato and Aristotle and the later authors who were influenced by them conducted with them.

The senior sophists (2nd half of the 5th century BC) include Protagoras, Gorgsh, Gshtia, Sale, Antiphon, Critias. The next generation - the younger sophists - includes Lycophron, Alcidamantus, Thrasymachus. The work “Double Speeches” that has come down to us belongs to an unknown sophist. The reasoning of another unknown sophist is quoted verbatim by Iamblichus in “Protrepticus”. Natural philosophical problems interested the sophists less than the thinkers of previous generations - most often they accepted the ideas of Ionian philosophy.

A common feature of the teachings of the Sophists was relativism, which found classical expression in Protagoras’ position “man is the measure of all things.” This was facilitated by the nature of the work of the sophists: they had to teach the young man who turned to them to convincingly defend any point of view that he might need in business. The basis of such training was the idea of the absence of absolute truth and objective values. The comparison of contradictory norms that prevailed among different peoples, the rapid collapse of traditional ideology in Greek cities, undermined the idea of a single divine moral law. The relativity of the concepts of good and evil

“Double speeches” almost lead to caricature; “Illness is evil for the dying, but for sellers of things needed for funerals and for gravediggers it is good.” The most important role in the worldview of the Sophists was played by the opposition of nature as a relatively constant element to human law or institution - changeable and arbitrary.

The Sophists inevitably fell in with traditional religious beliefs. Thus, Protagoras claimed that he did not know whether gods existed (Diog. L. K 51). Thrasymachus believed that the gods do not pay attention to people (DK, B 8) ": Close to the sophists, Diagoras of Melos and Theodore of Cyrene directly denied the existence of gods. Prodicus saw the origins of religion in the veneration of bread and wine, the sun, the moon and rivers - everything that benefits the people (ibid., B 5). Crigius, who headed the oligarchic government of the “30 tyrants” in Athens after the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War in 404, declared religion to be an invention designed to force people to obey the laws (see Sext Emp. Adv. . Math. K 54).

Protagoras made the first attempts to systematize the methods of inference. Lycophron reflected on the fact that the copula, even in the simplest judgments, identifies the one with the many, and demanded that it be abandoned (see Arist. Phys. 2, 285b25). Protagoras, according to tradition, laid the foundation for verbal competitions, in which many sophists resorted to logical distortions and paradoxes, which in ancient times received the name sophisms. Gorgias and other sophists developed the teaching of oratory begun in Sidilia by Coracus and Tisias and transferred it, in particular, to Athens. The Sophists took an important step towards creating a science of language. Protagoras dealt with the categories of inflection and the syntax of sentences. Prodicus laid the foundations for the doctrine of synonyms (see Plat. Crat. 384b; Prot. 337a-c).

The Sophists expressed ideas about the equality of all people. Thus, Alcidamantus declared that “God made everyone free, by nature; Yes, she made no one a slave” (scholia to Aristotle, “Rhetoric” 1379b). Antiphon and Lycophron rejected the advantages of noble birth. Antiphon denied significant differences between Greeks and barbarians.

The views of the sophists were not uniform even on basic issues. While the “anonymous Iamblichus” considers laws to be the basis for the normal existence of people. Antiphon declares state institutions to be evil (DK, B 44). Lycophron assigned the law the role of a guarantor of the personal rights of citizens (Aristotle, “Politics” III 9, 1280b8), and Thrasymachus, according to Plato, argued that rulers everywhere impose laws beneficial to themselves on citizens (“State” 336b-354c). The Sophists influenced Pericles, Euripides, and Herodotus. Fragment: Sofisti. Testimonianze e Frammenti, ed. M. Untersteiner, fasc. 1-2; Firenze, 1967; DK II; Makovelsky A. O. Sophists, vol. 1-2. Baku, 1940-41.

Lit.: Chernyshev B. S. Sophists. M., 1929; Durie S. Ya. History of ancient social thought. M.-L., 1929; Havelock E. A. The liberal temper in Greek politics. L., 1957; KubeJ. und Arete. Sophistisches und platonisches Tugendwissen. V., 1969; Guthrie W. K. S. A history of Greek philosophy, v. 3, Cambr., 1971; Sophistik, hrsg. v. S. J. Classen. Darmstadt, 1976; The sophists and their legacy. Proceedings of the 4"" international colloquium in ancient philosophy, 29 Aug.- 1 Sept. 1979. Wiesbaden, 1981; KerferdG.ß. The sophistic movement. Cambr., 1983; The sophistic movement. Athens, 1984, p. 96-136; ClassenC.J. Bibliographie zur Sophistik.- “Elenchos”, 1985, fasc. l, p. 108-112; Hoffmann K. Das Recht im Denken der Sophistik. Stuttg.-Lpz., 1997.

Soffits is a philosophical school in ancient Greece that existed in the 5th - first half of the 4th centuries. BC. Representatives of this philosophical school acted not so much as philosophical theorists, but as philosopher-educators who taught citizens philosophy, oratory and other types of knowledge (translated from Greek “sophists” - sages, teachers of wisdom). Among the sophists, the so-called groups stand out:

Senior sophists (5th century BC) - Protagoras, Gorgias, Antiphon;

Younger Sophists - Lycophro, Trassimachus.

Socrates did not officially belong to these groups, but shared many of the ideas of the sophists and used sophistry in practical activities.

Characteristic features of the philosophy of the Sophists.

Sophists are characterized by: a critical attitude towards the surrounding reality; the desire to test everything in practice; rejection of the foundations of the old, traditional civilization; denial of old traditions, habits, rules; the desire to prove the conditionality of the state and law, their imperfection; perception of moral norms as a subject of criticism; subjectivity in assessments and judgments, denial of objective existence and attempts to prove that reality exists only in human thoughts.

Sophistry as the main logical device of the sophists.

Representatives of this philosophical school proved their rightness with the help of sophisms - logical techniques, tricks, thanks to which a conclusion that was correct at first glance ultimately turned out to be false, and the interlocutor became confused in his own thoughts. An example of this conclusion is the “horned” sophism: “What you have not lost, you have, you have not lost the horns; that means you have them.” This result is achieved not as a result of paradox, the logical difficulty of sophism, but as a result of incorrect use of logical semantic operations. In this sophism, the first premise is false, but is presented as correct, hence the result.

The significance of the activities of the sophists.

Despite the fact that the activities of the sophists caused disapproval of both the authorities and representatives of other philosophical schools, the sophists made a great contribution to Greek philosophy and culture. Their main merits include that they: took a critical look at the surrounding reality; disseminated a large amount of philosophical and other knowledge among the citizens of Greek city-states (for which they were later called the ancient Greek enlighteners).

A prominent representative of the senior sophists was Protagoras (5th century BC). Protagoras expressed his philosophical credo in the statement: “Man is the measure of all things that exist, that they exist, and non-existent, that they do not exist.” This means that as a criterion for assessing the surrounding reality, good and bad, the sophists put forward the subjective opinion of a person: nothing exists outside human consciousness; nothing is given once and for all; what is good for a person today is good in reality; if tomorrow what is good today becomes bad, then it means that it is harmful and bad in reality; the entire surrounding reality depends on a person’s sensory perception (“What seems sweet to a healthy person will seem bitter to a sick person”); the world around us is relative; objective (true) knowledge is unattainable; there is only a world of opinion.

Socrates(469 – 399 BC). He went down in history as an outstanding polemicist, sage, and philosopher-teacher. The main method developed and applied by Socrates was called “maieutics”. The essence of maieutics is not to teach the truth, but to, through logical techniques and leading questions, lead the interlocutor to independently find the truth. Socrates conducted his philosophy and educational work in the midst of the people, in squares, markets in the form of an open conversation (dialogue, dispute), the topics of which were topical problems of that time, relevant today: good; evil; Love; happiness; honesty, etc. The philosopher was a supporter of ethical realism, according to which: any knowledge is good; any evil or vice is committed out of ignorance. Socrates was not understood by the official authorities and was perceived by them as an ordinary sophist, undermining the foundations of society, confusing young people and not honoring the gods. For this he was in 399 BC. sentenced to death and took the cup of poison.

Philosophy of Plato.

Plato (427 - 347 BC) is the greatest philosopher of Ancient Greece, a student of Socrates, the founder of his own philosophical school - the Academy.

The most important philosophical works of Plato: "Apology of Socrates", "Parmenides", "Gorgias", "Phaedo", "State", "Laws".

Material existence is created in the same way as a person creates a specific thing. This is the mind, which forms the material world out of chaos, formless movement, and brings things “out of disorder into order.”

Plato's theory of knowledge built on the fact that a person has innate ideas, “remembering” which he discovers the world for himself. Cognition itself is the process of contemplation by the mind of higher entities, and this process is divided into two stages. At first, knowledge is carried out by a pure soul, for even before the birth of the body it has already seen everything. However, when the soul moves into a person’s body, his bodily senses are connected to the process of cognition. Having settled into the body, the soul retains, but is not aware of, its knowledge. In the process of human development, she remembers her knowledge that she saw before. At the same time, sensory-empirical experience is only an impetus for memory, therefore Plato advises turning to the soul, bypassing the senses if possible. This can be done with the help of speech, and the main means of recollection is the method of dialectics - conversation.

Man is a unity of soul and body, which is based on the soul, for it is immortal. Since the soul exists before incarnation into the body, its existence does not depend on the body, and the destruction of the body does not mean the destruction of the soul. Simple entities are not destroyed; the soul is a simple essence, therefore it cannot disintegrate into its component parts, but only in this way does destruction occur. The soul is the embodiment of the idea of life, therefore it cannot be subject to death.

Plato divides souls of people into 3 categories depending on which principle predominates in them: reason (philosophers), passion (guards and warriors) and lust (peasants, traders, artisans).

Plato is founder of idealism. The main tenets of his idealistic teaching are the following:

Material things are changeable, impermanent and cease to exist over time;

The surrounding world (“the world of things”) is also temporary and changeable and in reality does not exist as an independent substance;

In reality, only pure (incorporeal) ideas (eidos) exist;

Pure (incorporeal) ideas are true, eternal and permanent;

Any existing thing is just a material reflection of the original idea (eidos) of a given thing (for example, horses are born and die, but they are only the embodiment of the idea of a horse, which is eternal and unchanging, etc.);

The whole world is a reflection of pure ideas (eidos).

Plato also puts forward philosophical doctrine of the triad, according to which everything that exists consists of three substances: “one”; "mind"; "souls".

Shape ideal state, according to Plato, there can be both a monarchy and an aristocracy and democracy, but he gave preference to the monarchy. In real life, the above-mentioned forms of state often degenerate into tyranny, oligarchy or demagoguery. To prevent this from happening, Plato demands that the education of citizens be properly organized. Philosophers must go through a long journey of learning wisdom before becoming rulers; In order to form courage and will among warriors, to avoid conflicts based on envy and jealousy, it is necessary to introduce community of property, wives and children for this layer. Peasants, artisans, and merchants need to develop a sense of moderation and self-restraint.

Plato's philosophy had a huge influence on all subsequent development of philosophical knowledge and was continued in the philosophical views of his student Aristotle.

Philosophy of Aristotle.

Aristotle (384 - 322, BC) - ancient Greek philosopher of the classical period, student of Plato.

The most famous works of Aristotle include: “Organon”, “Physics”, “Mechanics”, “Metaphysics”, “On the Soul”, “History of Animals”, “Rhetoric”, “Politics”, “Poetics of Athens”, “Poetics”.

Aristotle divided philosophy into three types:

Theoretical, studying the problems of existence, various spheres of existence, the origin of all things, the causes of various phenomena (received the name “primary philosophy”);

Practical - about human activity, the structure of the state;

Poetic.

It is believed that, in fact, Aristotle identified logic as the fourth part of philosophy.

Developing his views on being, Aristotle criticizes Plato's teaching about the existence of ideas as absolutely independent pre-natural entities. Aristotle formulates his idea of being perceived through sensations. This objective, sensory world is the primary reality, nature, which is not determined by anyone. Aristotle gives his interpretation of this problem:

There are no “pure ideas” that are not associated with the surrounding reality, the reflection of which is all things and objects of the material world; there are only isolated and concretely defined things; these things are called individuals (translated as “indivisible”), that is, there is only a specific horse in a specific place, and not the “idea of a horse”, of which this horse is the embodiment; individuals are the primary entity, and the types and genera of individuals (horses in general, houses in general, etc.) are secondary.

Answer the question ( what is being) Aristotle tries through statements about being, that is, through categories (translated from ancient Greek - statements). Aristotle identifies 10 categories that answer the question posed (about being), and one of the categories says what being is, and the other 9 give its characteristics. These categories are:

Essence (substance); quantity; quality; attitude; place; time; position; state; action; suffering.

In other words, according to Aristotle, being is an entity (substance) that has the properties of quantity, quality, place, time, relationship, position, state, action, suffering.

Problems of matter occupy an important place in Aristotle's philosophy.

According to Aristotle, matter is potency limited by form (for example, a copper ball is copper limited by sphericity). Touching on this problem, the philosopher also comes to the following conclusions:

Everything that exists on Earth has potency (matter itself) and form; a change in at least one of these qualities (either matter or form) leads to a change in the essence of the object itself; reality is a sequence of transition from matter to form and from form to matter; potency (material) is a passive principle, form is an active principle; the highest form of all things is God, who exists outside the world.

According to Aristotle, the bearer of consciousness is the soul.

The philosopher distinguishes three levels of the soul:

Vegetable soul; animal soul; rational soul.

The plant soul is responsible for the functions of nutrition, growth and reproduction. The animal soul is also responsible for these same functions, but thanks to it the body is supplemented with the functions of sensation and desire. And only the rational (human) soul, covering all the above functions, also knows the functions of reasoning and thinking. This is what sets a person apart from the entire world around him.

Occupies a significant place in Aristotle's philosophy man and problems of social life. Man, in his opinion, is a “political animal”, which is characterized by an instinctive desire for “cohabitation”. “He who cannot enter and form part of a certain community, who does not need anyone or anything, is sufficient for himself, then, not being part of the state, he is either a beast or God.”

State designation consists of ensuring the happiness of all citizens, which includes only those who have property and participate in the management of society. Slaves were not considered citizens.

Aristotle emphasized 6 forms of state: 3 correct: aristocracy, monarchy and polity, and 3 incorrect: tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. The best form is polity, since it combines the properties of moderate democracy and the personal dignity of oligarchy inherent in noble people.

How do the philosophies of Socrates and the Sophists compare?

Socrates is an ancient Greek philosopher whose works had a turning point in the formation of ancient philosophical thought. Socrates owns a special method of analyzing concepts - maieutics. Examples of this method can be found in Plato's dialogue Theaetetus. It is from the dialogues of Plato, a student of Socrates, that we know the philosophical attribution of the thinker, since he himself did not write anything down.

In ancient Greek philosophy of the 5th century. BC e. there was a crisis, since several philosophical schools existed and progressed simultaneously. They took upon themselves the function of explaining the world, but did it based on their own views, references to different authors, which is why they contradicted each other.

The change in emphasis in philosophy also arose due to new social conditions, as well as the choice of topics of interest for study.

Sophists initially they were paid teachers, so their thoughts were literally limited - they gave only the knowledge that their students needed. So to speak, “on request, on demand.”
Socrates noted that his main mission is to teach a person to think, and independently, which was successfully accomplished thanks to the voiced method (mayeutics). Leading questions forced a person to think, and what is philosophy if not the love of wisdom, the risk of being smart, of thinking independently.

Philosophy of the Sophists and Socrates: briefly

Sophists in philosophy used a method such as heuristics or the art of argument. The sophists taught to prove their rightness to others, neglecting the search for truth.

Among the features of the philosophy of the Sophists are:

Relativism– relativity. The sophists argued that there is no absolute good or evil - everything is relative, therefore good can be interpreted as evil and vice versa. Gorgias (the sophist) took on the task of praising or disparaging any thing or concept, regardless of its objective qualities.
Cosmopolitanism- citizen of the world. In Ancient Greece, each city (polis) was considered a separate state with laws and authority. The Sophists traveled in search of students, so they did not consider themselves patriots of one city.
Subjectivism . Protagoras: Man is the measure of all things that exist in that they exist and non-existent in that they do not exist. Another intricate rotation with a touch of relativism. This point of view refers to the fact that it is man who is the measure of all things and the truth for phenomena and concepts. Again, a great way to “evade” objectivity, playing to your advantage.

Philosophy of Socrates was intended for a person. With the help of maieutics and irony, which were introduced into dialectics, the thinker taught that we can recognize or not recognize the truth, but it exists independently of us.

Among the features of Socrates' philosophy are:

Recognition of the absoluteness of good and evil. Knowledge, as Socrates believed, is a virtue, since a knowledgeable person does not do evil.
Dialogue form. Socrates' philosophical conversations were always in the form of a dialogue, which he began by admitting his incompetence, thereby winning over the person.
The definition of truth as not contradicting itself. This was manifested in the same dialogue: the opponent often began to contradict himself and the original theses, which Socrates noticed.
Truth is born by man himself. He does not interpret, but reaches it through reasoning, which correlates with the idealistic position of Socrates.

(7 rated, rating: 5,00 out of 5)

Virgo

Philosophy of the Sophists and Socrates

Tutoring

You may also like