The Sophists | rhetoric-greeks

The Sophistic School of Thought

"[D]uring its golden age from 461 BC to 429 BC" - the time of the Sophists - Pericles ruled over Athens, an assembly-based "democracy" led by the Council of Five Hundred (39). In this government system, adult male citizens could attend the assembly; the council chose the topics up for debate. Skill in speaking was necessary for power because of this political orality of Greek culture, so schools taught "speech" as part of the curriculum of young men.

As Athens' economy changed, becoming more centered around trade, metics - resident aliens or foreigners - "dominated the arts, politics, and education" (40). The first Sophist established there was one such metic: Protagoras.

Background

Gorgias (485-380 BC)

Gorgias was also a metic, a great speaker who came to Athens from Sicily in 427 BC and introduced rhetoric as an subject of study.
He believed rhetoric could have a powerful effect on audiences - "speech can cause euphoria, as do some drugs, but it can also heal, as do other drugs" (44).
Gorgias is known as the "father of ceremonial (epideictic) speaking," that which praises the good and lays blame on the bad. [See: Aristotle]
For example, in his famous Encomium of Helen, Gorgias asserts reasons why Helen of Troy was not to blame for her part in the Trojan War, one of which was simply the weakness of humans against the almighty power of rhetoric.
One reason Gorgias was such an effective speaker was that he used poetic devices such as metaphors to liven up his speeches and keep audiences interested.
He also taught and utilized important elements of delivery such as gesticulation, the physical movements one makes while speaking.
His skills were impressive enough to win him the Olympics three times, and the citizens of Athens were even said to have built a gold statue of him, although it is now more commonly believed that Gorgias himself had it put up.
Some of his most influential concepts of rhetoric were kairos, the ideal time to deliver a given message, and kosmos, the ideal length and speech structure for a given topic.

Protagoras (485-411 BC)

Protagoras arrived in Athens in 443 BC and encouraged democracy from his new position as Pericles' advisor and diplomat.
He was one of the most influential of the first Sophists, and the first to bring rhetoric as an art form to Athenian society.
He believed that if absolute truths (universal norms) did exist, humans would have no way of knowing that they did, and no way of explaining them if we somehow could.
Only relative truth exists; everyone's thoughts and perceptions differ, so each human becomes their own "measure of all things," (Protagoras).
From this idea, Protagoras saw the value of education - if taught about "probabilities and alternatives," humans will be better able to "measure" truths, then successfully express and debate their best illusion of reality with others (41).
As a teacher, Protagoras saw the need to instill virtue (arete') in his students: "the practical knowledge of how to function in domestic, political, and social life in an oral society" (41). In other words, he wanted his students to become "men of the city" - civic leaders.
Protagoras was considered the "father of debate" for his concept of dissoi logoi, which was essentially the idea that all competing claims of knowledge should be examined. Today, some might call this 'playing devil's advocate,' but it allows for common beliefs to strengthen and reform as necessary.
Protagoras was later kicked out of Athens for agnosticism; he believed that humans can never know for sure if the gods exist, so one must utilize rhetoric and take control of their own fate.

Isocrates (436-338 BC)

Isocrates was a student of both Protagoras and Gorgias.
Unable to have a career in politics due to his stage fright, Isocrates was a speechwriter and popular teacher in Athens by 392 BC.
He believed that rhetoric would "enhance civil pride and lead people to their higher destiny" and like Protagoras, he hoped to develop virtue in his pupils (46).
He attested to the educational benefits of imitation, generalizing that both speaking ability and civic duty could be learned by observing and imitating the best characteristics of other speakers.
Isocrates was known for using the body metaphor to associate the structure of speeches with body parts: every speech must have an introduction/head, an argument/torso, and a conclusion/feet.
He believed that speeches should draw on reason as well as emotion; he also believed that persuasion (rhetoric) is a necessary part of inquiry, or truth-seeking.
Isocrates' ideas about rhetoric were very influential to later philosophers, especially Aristotle.

Overview: The Sophists

Most Sophists were metics - not citizens of Athens.
The Sophists viewed rhetoric as the source of knowledge.
Truth is relative; humans are incapable of recognizing, knowing, or explaining "absolute truth."
For this reason, Sophists were major proponents of skepticism.
Their purpose for rhetoric was to find or create the best illusion of reality.
Civic duty was important to the Sophists - they hoped to instill virtue in students and help them become functioning "men of the city."
Both sides of a debate must be explored fully, according to the Sophistic concept of dissoi logoi.
Important concepts also include kairos (ideal timing) and kosmos (ideal proportion).

Next up: Plato!