Socrates vs. Sophists: Understanding Truth and Knowledge
Why Socrates Did Not Charge for His Teachings
Because he said that he didn’t know anything, he couldn’t charge anything for his speeches. He recognized his own ignorance.
Why Socrates Didn’t Write Any Books
Because he said that you could not receive any feedback or answers from a book. You can’t change anything written in a book. You need dialogue to develop truth and knowledge.
How Socrates’ Doctrine Differs from Protagoras’ on Truth
Socrates and his followers believed that there is a single truth which you can find through making logical questions. He believed in objectivism and defended the objectivist movement. In contrast, Protagoras (who was a Sophist) thought that there are as many truths as groups of people or people (relativism), and that they believed in subjectivism. Socrates said that the one single truth is common, as it is unique. People can’t have their own selfish truth, as Protagoras thought.
“Man Is the Measure of All Things”: Meaning
This maxim by Protagoras can be interpreted in two ways:
- Man is the measure of all things that are. “Measure” here can be understood as “perception.” The word “man” can be interpreted as both individual and collective. Sophists believed in relativism, meaning that there are different perceptions of reality. So, a unique reality exists for each being.
- Man is the measure of all things that are not. If man is the measure of those things that are, he could also be the measure of those things that are not. Humans cannot judge or measure what is not. This means that reality exists, but we cannot perceive it.
“Nothing Exists”: Explanation of Gorgias’ Thesis
This is a critique of the metaphysics of Parmenides.
The eternal being needs to be infinite (immeasurable). The immeasurable cannot be contained in anything, since it would have a measure, and all that can be measured is not unlimited.
“If Something Exists, It Cannot Be Thought Of”: Explanation
Non-being can be thought (when we make mistakes, we think about something that is not real). There is an insurmountable gap between thought and reality that prevents us from knowing it as it is. “If what is thought does not exist, what exists is not thought.”
“If Something Can Be Thought, It Cannot Be Communicated”: Explanation
Words cannot accurately represent what exists. With sounds, we cannot represent colors, shapes, smells, and the whole range of sensations that constitute reality.
- This highlights the gap between language and reality.
- The philosophical position of Gorgias is known as extreme skepticism or nihilism.
- Nihilism not only maintains that human beings are impeded from knowing the truth, but that the truth doesn’t exist at all.
Key Philosophical Terms
- Eristic Method: A technique led by Protagoras where fallacious arguments are given to convince someone.
- Relativism: A philosophical attitude led by Protagoras that states the existence of as many truths as people’s perceptions (but not infinite perceptions).
- Voluntarism: A philosophical approach led by Callicles stating that the truth is imposed by the dominant will.
- Maieutics: The Socratic method that uses dialogue and definitions to arrive at the truth.