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Sophists Vs Socrates Research Paper

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Appreciation of Philosophy Essay #2 Socrates vs. Sophists Believing Socrates was a Sophist can be a common misconception in Greek history. Although they have similarities, such as moving in the same circle, teaching, and having the same subject matter, there are only two given differences that set them apart. The fact that Socrates looked for objective truth through dialectic, while the Sophists believed in relative truth and taught that through rhetoric, clearly separates them. Questioning if Socrates was a Sophist is not an unintelligent question at all. Many have pondered this because both taught in Athens. Although Socrates denied teaching, this claim is false. He even contradicts himself later in the Apology stating, he doesn’t …show more content…

were professions who charged for their teachings. Thus, they already differed from Socrates in the sense that Socrates never charged money for his teaching. “This is, of course, perfectly consistent with his claim that he has nothing to teach” (Melchert 64). Socrates did not charge for his practices, because he insisted he did not know what is; therefore, nobody can teach what they don’t understand. The other main difference between the Sophists and Socrates is, the Sophists understood the truth to be relative. They believe that each individual is the final judge of how things are. This thought developed into the view that there is no real knowledge or truth, “the whole point is to enable their practitioner to win through rhetoric” (Melchert 64). The Sophists used rhetoric to persuade audiences in specific situations, regardless if it were true or not. On the other hand, Socrates believed that truth is objective, meaning that there were right and wrong answers to moral questions that went beyond opinion and popular sentiment. He believed that the best way to come to knowledge of the truth is through dialectic. Dialectic is “questions that make us think again, questions that make us uncomfortable and inclined to be defensive” (Melchert 66). Socrates used this dialectic method to reach a universal truth by questioning and always using rational reasoning when teaching. This allowed individuals to come upon

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