Sophists

E76034

intellectual tradition philosophical movement rhetorical school social group

Sophists were itinerant professional teachers and intellectuals in ancient Greece, known for their skill in rhetoric and argumentation, often criticized for prioritizing persuasive success over truth.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Sophist	13
Sophists canonical	9
Sophism	4

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	intellectual tradition ⓘ philosophical movement ⓘ rhetorical school ⓘ social group ⓘ
activeInPeriod	4th century BCE ⓘ 5th century BCE ⓘ
associatedWithConcept	eristic argument ⓘ nomos versus physis ⓘ protagorean relativism ⓘ relativism ⓘ rhetoric ⓘ skepticism ⓘ
criticizedBy	Aristotle ⓘ Plato ⓘ Socrates ⓘ
economicModel	fee-based instruction ⓘ
hasActivity	legal argument coaching ⓘ preparing students for political life ⓘ teaching rhetoric ⓘ teaching virtue (aretē) ⓘ training in public speaking ⓘ
hasCharacteristic	experts in argumentation ⓘ experts in rhetoric ⓘ itinerant teachers ⓘ professional educators ⓘ relativistic views ⓘ skeptical attitudes toward objective truth ⓘ
hasLocation	Greek Antiquity ⓘ surface form: ancient Greece
hasReputation	charging fees for instruction ⓘ controversial in classical Athens ⓘ prioritizing persuasion over truth ⓘ
includesMember	Antiphon ⓘ Gorgias ⓘ Hippias of Elis ⓘ surface form: Hippias Prodicus ⓘ Protagoras ⓘ Thrasymachus ⓘ
influenced	Athenian democracy ⓘ development of rhetoric ⓘ education in classical Greece ⓘ legal practice in ancient Greece ⓘ
languageOf	Ancient Greek ⓘ
legacy	term "sophistry" meaning deceptive reasoning ⓘ
opposedBy	Platonic philosophy ⓘ Socratic philosophy ⓘ
taughtAudience	young aristocratic men ⓘ
taughtIn	Athens ⓘ other Greek city-states ⓘ
viewedAs	corruptors of youth by some Athenians ⓘ

Referenced by (26)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Aristophanes' play Clouds → satirizes → Sophists ⓘ

subject surface form: Clouds

Aristippus → influencedBy → Sophists ⓘ

Presocratic philosophers → hasSubgroup → Sophists ⓘ

Statesman → relatedWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Cratylus → relatedWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Theaetetus → relatedWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Theaetetus → precedesInTrilogy → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Timaeus → relatedWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Aristophanes → workSubject → Sophists ⓘ

Socratic dialogues of Plato → includesWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Classical period → hasPhilosophicalSchool → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophism

Gorgias → movement → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophism

Socrates' Thinkery → satirizes → Sophists ⓘ

Protagoras → philosophicalSchool → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophism

Plato's dialogue "Parmenides" → relatedWorkByPlato → Sophists ⓘ

subject surface form: Parmenides (dialogue)

this entity surface form: Sophist

late Plato → includesDialogue → Sophists ⓘ

subject surface form: Late Plato

this entity surface form: Sophist

Politikos → relatedWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Eleatic Stranger → appearsIn → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Platonic corpus → containsWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Thrasyllan tetralogies → includesWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

Hippias of Elis → memberOf → Sophists ⓘ

Hippias of Elis → philosophicalSchool → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophism

Late dialogues of Plato → includesWork → Sophists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Sophist

On Non-Existence → relatedTo → Sophists ⓘ

Clouds (play) → satirizes → Sophists ⓘ

φροντιστήριον (phrontistērion) → satirizes → Sophists ⓘ

subject surface form: φροντιστήριον