Ideas de Sofistas, Gorgias y Platón

The Sophists, Gorgias and Plato

Introduction

Throughout the introductory study of rhetoric, the iconic Plato, the controversial Sophists and the well-known Platonic text Gorgias cannot be missed. These three early Greek elements are essential for the proper understanding of rhetoric and its origins, Moreover, it is imperative to comprehend why the sophists were controversial during their time and are still studied and analyzed today. As it will be described, Gorgias was a fictional text written by Plato that challenged sophistic practices and beliefs in politics, oratory and education. The reader must keep in mind that the versions of a translated Gorgias today differ due to their different interpreters. Thus, scholarly bias should always be kept in mind.

Who were the Sophists?

Historically, rhetorical education was primarily introduced to Ancient Greece by the sophists in the mid 5th century B.C. The sophists, mainly known as a group of speakers, instructors and advocates, were provincial Greeks who migrated into Athens looking for employment in the areas of speech writing, oration, and education of rhetoric. It is obscurely believed that “the Sophists were the first to infuse rhetoric with life” (Poulakos 36). There were three main groups of sophists. One group of the sophists consisted of “logographos”, which in other words, were professional speech writers. Another group was made up of instructors who taught public speaking and ran their own schools, and the last group of sophists was made up of professional orators, either for political or entertainment purposes1. Although it may not seem out of the ordinary for educators to charge for their services, 5th century BC Ancient Greeks were unaccustomed to this belief, and thus became suspicious of the sophists true intentions. Taken into account that Athenian aristocratic families urged to maintain first-rate education for their own families, they felt intimidated by the new system of instruction that the sophists were beginning to introduce (Herrick 41). Later on, the sophists became rich and popular in Greece due to their “distinctive style of teaching that proved highly successful” (Herrick 36).

Plato against the Sophists and Gorgias of Leontini

As previously discussed, the sophists were foreigners to Athens who claimed to be “important intellectual figures… in the insights of the power of words and the important role of persuasion” (Herrick 36-7). Because of their influence in rhetorical education and in thought-provoking debate, the sophists claimed to be able to teach arête, kairos, and persuasive speech. Solely the fact that the sophists attempted to teach Greek virtue (arête), which was believed to be received by the gods, infuriated the aristocratic ancient Greek society since the sophists “‘were skeptical about a divine source of knowledge or value’” (Herrick 41).

Plato, an aristocrat of Ancient Greece, developed a long rivalry with the sophists throughout his life. On neutral grounds, it has been stated that Plato disliked and challenged the sophists relentlessly for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, Plato's greatest concern about the Sophists was "that they profess[ed] to teach about justice without any real understanding of justice itself" (Herrick 61). Here it can be observed that Plato feared the power of persuasion to control audiences and the “demos” or popular. Moreover, according to James Herrick, Plato denounced rhetoric to be “a knack of flattering with words” (41). He was concerned that the sophists would manipulate the absolute truth (which directly connected with philosophy) – as said by Herrick, “The power of rhetoric (the methods of persuasion) is pitted against the power of philosophy (the earnest search for the truth” (67). Thus, Plato’s argument was based upon the conflict between winning over a possibly uneducated audience with flattery rather than with the absolute truth which would ultimately lead to injustice.

Plato also challenged the sophists since he specially thought that they could not possibly teach arête given that he strongly believed that one was either born with virtue or was brought up among it in the high class as Ancient Greek culture taught.

Lastly, Plato feared the power of the new writing technology that came with the movement of the sophistic rhetoric seeing as Greek education and culture was solely oral, and perceived writing a lazy tool to value memory.

Before Gorgias (the text) is discussed, it is important to briefly describe who the real Gorgias allegedly was. Gorgias of Leontini was a Greek (non-Athenian) sophist and rhetorician who formed part of the first generation of sophists in Ancient Greece around 485-380 B.C. He asserted to have the skill of persuasion and thought rhetoric to have magical powers over words due to language’s ability to control the mind. Gorgias was also big in the use of rhyme and style in order to make his arguments more convincing and “magical”. As a famous sophist, Gorgias became awfully affluent due to his instructor fees. His major interested circled around the antithesis device, which is the opposing of ideas in a sentence or paragraph. Gorgias interest in the antithesis was not merely based on style but also in the belief that truth emerged from a clash of arguments (Herrick 45).

Gorgias as a Text

Gorgias is a dialogue written by Plato around 387 B.C. which combines elements drawn from actual debates with imagined discussion representing the views of Socrates, Plato and Gorgias the sophist. According to Herrick, the text “takes on three Sophists [Gorgias, Calicles and Polus] in a debate over rhetoric’s effects on politics and justice…Plato aims his arguments at Sophists in particular, he builds a case against anyone depending on rhetoric for a living, especially politicians” (58). It is widely accepted that Gorgias symbolizes the lack of respect that Plato had for the sophists. Herrick also clarifies that the general argument in Gorgias “is that rhetoric as practiced by…at least by some of the more notorious Sophists, does not embody an adequate conception of justice, and is thus a dangerously deceptive activity for both the individual and the state” (59).

As noted in class lectures, there are three main questions posed in Gorgias: 1) what is the nature of rhetoric?, 2) does nature of rhetoric tend to mislead?, and 3) What happens to a society when persuasion forms the basis of law and justice? (Lopez). Socrates and Gorgias have different standpoints regarding these questions accordingly—Gorgias on one hand focuses on the impact that the art of rhetoric through persuasive use of words has on democracy; on the other hand Socrates bases his argument on the proposal that not only rhetoric has the power of manipulation

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