This post is based on the notes I made watching identically named Artur Holmes lecture in his excellent History of Philosophy course.
Table of Contents
City-State
For the Greeks, the city-state was the observed reality, so it’s no surprise that their philosophy is deeply tied to it. When you live in a city-state and have a bit of free time, you can’t help but try to build a coherent worldview integrating your lived experience with nature and morality.
Sophists
Sophistry is a word we’re still using when someone is being preposterous and focused on winning a debate over discovering truth. The general definition of sophistry, though, is skepticism about the possibility of knowing objective truth about reality (or nature).
Sophists focus on rhetoric instead of the pursuit of knowledge, and they have no problem trying to win an argument by non-logical means. Rhetoric is an interesting thing: it can’t be qualified as science, nor can it be fitted neatly into philosophy. It is more of a skill set focused on achieving utilitarian goals.
Moral Question
The word “sophist” literally meant “a wise one”, and a man practicing sophistry perceived himself as a pragmatist, which is an attitude that can be seen in sophist views on morality.
Sophists see morality as a convention. It’s a sort of social contract, which means that you don’t need any concept of natural moral law. In the world of sophism, morality is simple and transactional.
Reaction
Sophists weren’t the only thinkers and educators in 5th-century BC Athens, and they faced fierce opposition from guys like Socrates.
While Sophists emphasized measurable results and pragmatism, Socrates argued that care of the soul is essential and should be prioritized over more down-to-earth attributes of success.
Socrates adopted the Delphic maxim “Know thyself!” as his rallying cry, using it to emphasize cultivation and care of the soul over everything else. This mindset is obviously at odds with what the Sophists preached.