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Compare Plato's Hatred Of The Sophists

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Plato’s deep hatred of the Sophists is based on the behavior that these teachers portrayed in their teaching, which was largely based on the hunt for wealth, fame and social status. Plato noted that the sophists were nothing more than paid hunters whose aim was to make money. Plato further describes the sophists as merchants of knowledge, “purgers of human soul” or “athletes in a sport of words”. Why was did he hate their teachings?
The best answer is based on the method of teaching that the sophists portrayed in Athens. From Plato’s arguments, it is worth noting that the sophists did not teach knowledge because their interest was not to build knowledge or share it with others, but rather to make money. Their teaching was based on opinions of things, which Plato thought was ‘rhetoric’ rather than philosophy. …show more content…

For instance, the sophists based their teachings on issues such as power, relationships, truth and manipulation. On the other hand, Plato’s view was that rhetoric had the potential for causing both good and harm to people. However, he believed that there was a sense of moral responsibility. He thought that the morality was the most important and essential aspect, which was the universal good that humans must discover through language.
Plato’s criticism of the sophists is based on three questions he formulated. First, he questions what rhetoric was. Then, he wonders whether rhetoric, by the virtue of its nature, misleads humans. Finally, he wonders what would happen to the society when the sophists successfully use persuasions to form the basis of justice and

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