Sophists, << SOF ihsts, >> were educators who traveled from city to city teaching for pay in the city-states of Greece during the second half of the 400’s B.C. They taught grammar, political theory, and many other subjects. But their main subject was persuasive public speaking, which was crucial in such ancient democracies as Athens. They claimed to teach virtue, which they defined as being successful in the world.
Sophists did not cling to a specific set of beliefs. For example, some sophists seemed to uphold traditional morality, but others criticized traditional moral values. Some believed that laws should be rejected in favor of the natural right of the strong. But others recognized that human law, though unnatural, was essential for a secure society.
Much of our knowledge of the sophists comes from dialogues written by the great Greek philosopher Plato. Plato presents the sophists as largely uninterested in the truth and only concerned with making money. His influence has led to the modern meaning of sophist as someone who uses clever but misleading reasoning.
The best-known sophists included Protagoras, Gorgias, and Critias. Protagoras believed that arguments of equal force could be constructed for the opposing sides of any issue. Gorgias was the premier teacher of rhetoric of his time. Critias argued that the gods were inventions whose purpose was to inspire fear of wrongdoing.
