Socrates In Comparison To The Sophists Theory Of Knowledge

2 Pages 550 Words

Socrates’ theory of knowledge as mentioned in his “Prayer to Pan” stated that wealth is knowledge. Knowledge is obtained through the dialectic method, which is the way to gain knowledge through a structured conversation. The sophists on the other hand did not have a finite definition of knowledge and believed that there is no standard of truth. The sophists did not teach at the same time as Socrates, but the Sophists would have objections to what Socrates believed and taught.
The sophists were concrete people and excelled in the areas of grammar, writing and public discourse. Theses were necessary characteristics for being a sophist because it allowed one to present ideas clearly and this would lead to a prosperous career in the political forum. Gorgias was a famous sophists and strong believer in rhetoric, persuasive speech. He believed little in philosophy but rather rhetoric, and in doing so took a peculiar view on the truth, believing there was none at all. He had little faith that an individual could process anything and if he could process anything he could not convey it. Socrates on the other hand believed that a man’s life should be dedicated to gaining knowledge and collecting information to find the truth. This was one of the differences the sophists and Socratic teachings.
Protagoras was another well-established sophists who presented ideas plainly. He stated that everyone sees things differently and there is no standard on which to judge what we saw as right or wrong. This played right into the sophist’s beliefs because it meant that anything was provable. It was an effort to distinguish the differences between reality and appearance, in the realm of law especially. For example to society if someone did not worship the Gods it appeared as bad, but in reality the choice affected no one. This idea clashed with Socrates’ belief of what a definition is. To Socrates a definition is a clear and fixed...