Sophists, Socrates and Plato
1.
Who were the Sophists, and why were they so famous in Athens?
The sophists were itinerant teachers of rhetoric or the art of persuasion in Greece in the latter part of the 5th century. They Wete famous for making the weak argument appear strong and a strong argument appear weak.
2.
Identify at least two ways in which Socrates differed from the sophists.
a. The Socrates achieved persuasion by the means of honesty and objective logical arguments whereas sophists achieved persuasion by clever tricks, concealed fallacies, and appeal to emotions.
b. The teaching of Sophist was epistemological and moral relativism, and subjectivism.
Socrates method was the opposite to the assumption of the sophist.
3.
Briefly summarize the major teaching of Gorgias.
Justice is what the strong pats on the wall for all to follow" is what Gorgias teaching was based on.
4.
How did Socrates transform the famous Delphic Oracle?
Socrates transformed the meaning by turning it inward.
5.
What is the technical (Greek) term for Socratic Method?
The technical (greek) term for Socratic Method is Elenchus.
6.
What is the major focus of Plato’s early dialogues?
He focusses on ethical questions about the Socratic method.
7.
Identify the “twin pillars” of Plato’s philosophy.
Anamnesis- the immortality and divinity or eternity of the rational human soul and
the reality of and unchangeability of the objects of its knowledge. (T
heory of the forms and the doctrine of the immorality of the soul.)
