Sophist

(en.wikipedia.org)

15 points | by aaavl2821 17 hours ago ago

5 comments

  • leshokunin 16 hours ago ago

    I feel like this is a concept that is very useful and insightful to know for anyone who likes to reflect on today's world.

    Sophists in Ancient Greece used similar argumentation techniques at the philosophers. But their goal wasn't to pursue wisdom. It was to sound clever, win the argument.

    You'll see this skill in debaters, lawyers, podcasters, and very partisan people. It's an important one to identify, imho. I think the flood of information and the sense of aimlessness that comes with it created an environment for sophists to thrive.

    Since misinformation travels faster than information, I think learning about logical fallacies and rhetoric used by sophists is one of the most important skills in sense-making.

    Highly recommend sharing and exploring this concept.

    • soanvig 12 hours ago ago

      It's enough though if you study fallacy of argumentation. It should cover all sophist techniques.

    • LargoLasskhyfv 14 hours ago ago

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Being_Right is the updated and 'modern' version of this.

      The power of Schopenhauer: Eristic Dialectic!

    • AfterHIA 15 hours ago ago

      I'm with you pal. As a humanities guy I feel like 80-90% of what you need to know to live as an effective modern human being you can learn from Socrates, Aristotle, and Thucydides.

      Socrates for being a good man himself being a secular Nazarene. Aristotle for coming to terms with society's quirks and Thucydides for understanding international politics and war.