Protagoras

E88225

Protagoras was a pre-Socratic Greek sophist and philosopher best known for his relativistic claim that "man is the measure of all things."


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Greek philosopher
human
pre-Socratic philosopher
rhetorician
sophist
associatedWith Abdera
Athens
birthPlace Abdera
Ancient Greece
Thrace
culturalContext Classical Athens
era Classical Greek philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy
floruit 5th century BCE
gender male
influenced Gorgias
Hippias
Plato
Prodicus
relativist traditions in philosophy
influencedBy Greek rhetorical practice
pre-Socratic philosophy
knownFor agnosticism about the gods
relativism
sophistry
teaching rhetoric for pay
language Ancient Greek
legacy early proponent of relativism in Western philosophy
foundational figure of sophism
name Protagoras
nationality Greek
notableIdea "Man is the measure of all things"
arguments can be made stronger or weaker by technique
truth is relative to the perceiver
occupation philosopher
sophist
teacher of rhetoric
philosophicalSchool Sophism
regionOfActivity Ancient Greece
Athens
studentOf no widely attested specific teacher
subjectOf Plato's dialogue "Protagoras"
references in Diogenes Laërtius
references in Plato's "Theaetetus"
taught rhetoric to Athenian citizens
virtue as a teachable skill
timePeriod circa 5th century BCE
viewOnEthics ethical relativism
viewOnKnowledge epistemic relativism
viewOnReligion agnostic about the existence of the gods


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