Sophists and Socrates

Question 1

Three prominent sophists

Answer 1

Protagoras, Gorgias, Thrasymachus

Question 2

what were sophists known to teach

Answer 2

rhetoric

Question 3

how did sophists become relevant

Answer 3

athens moved from aristocracy to democracy. aristocracies of families schooled children, so those free men who wished to be in democracy needed to learn how to persuade people, hence sophists

Question 4

were sophists hated?

Answer 4

not initially, but because taught young people how to argue any case and charged money for courses

Question 5

protagoras belief explained

Answer 5

our judgment is based off of our own knowledge; because we have different knowledge, our judgment will be different and vary from person to person; knowldege is based off of our perceptions

Question 6

protagroas belief in a nutshell

Answer 6

knowledge is relative to a person, if senses relative to person; “man is the measure of all things” BUT need to follow law for stability

Question 7

Gorgias’ philosophy

Answer 7

“no reality we can know”; no truth; nothing exisits->if exists, incomprehensible->because knowledge is objective

Question 8

Thrasymchus’ philosophy

Answer 8

“might is right”; if everything is subjective, then morality = subjective bc looking for self-interest; justice is a weakness

Question 9

what questions did socrates try to answer

Answer 9

What is the good life and how do I live it?

Question 10

according to socrates, how does one come up with knowledge

Answer 10

dialectic: asking broad subject to get to core question, in doing this you get to DEFINITIONS (through particulars -> universals) that allow us to communicate our ideas and group them on the way things are

Question 11

Socrates’ explanation for evil actions and how to fix it

Answer 11

mistaken idea of what will actually be good for them (eg. robber steals money to live better life); in order to correct must acquire more knowledge

Question 12

according to socrates’ what is soul and why is it important

Answer 12

soul=ability to think; if you have a soul, you’re capable of thinking and expanding your knowledge/character

Question 13

why are we wisest according to socrates’

Answer 13

knows own limitation of knowledge “wise if know nothing” so can keep learning

Question 14

what does socrates’ mean by an unexamined life isn’t worth living (what is the good life)

Answer 14

if you don’t examine life, it’s meaningless, because you don’t know if you have purpose; by examining life, you question if have purpose and cultivate change accordingly

Question 15

what was socrates’ main beliefs?

Answer 15

• dialectic -> definitions
• soul
• the good life