SOCRATES VS. SOPHISTS

Socrates is the ancient Greek thinker who laid the early foundations for Western philosophical thought. His "Socratic Method" involved asking probing questions in a give-and-take which would eventually lead to the truth. Socrates was born in Athens and fought as a foot soldier in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta, but in later years became a devotee of philosophy and argument. He spent years in the public places of Athens, engaging his fellow citizens in philosophical discussions and urging them to greater self-analysis. Socrates's tendency to question traditional and popular ideas upset some powerful people, and at age 70 he was charged with heresy and corruption of local youth. Convicted, he carried out the death sentence by drinking hemlock, becoming one of history's earliest martyrs of conscience. Socrates's most famous pupil was Plato, who in turn instructed the philosopher Aristotle.


In the Golden Age of Greece (500 B.C.E.-400 B.C.E.), emphasis shifted from cosmological concerns to human (ethical, political) concerns.

Sophists: There are no universal, objective standards. There is no “right” way except perhaps “winning.”

Socrates: There are universal, objective standards. "THAT there are universal standards I know; what they are in detail, I don’t know; I seek.”

Sophists: The key question is a WHO question—an authority question—WHO is to say.

Socrates: The key question is a WHAT question—WHAT can be said for & what can be said against such and such a line of conduct on the merits of the case?

Sophists: There is no objective right and wrong. Right and wrong are merely matters of convention. What people say is right or wrong is right or wrong; their saying or believing that it is right or wrong makes it so. Because of this radical ethical relativism, the radical sophists adopted a might-makes-right philosophy and taught: do whatever is necessary to achieve your objectives. Help your friends; harm your enemies.

Socrates: It is never right to do wrong. Yet, it is always an open question as to whether X is in fact shown to be wrong. In a sense, right and wrong are rooted in the nature of things. If X turns out to be wrong (presumably for everyone or anyone), then it is never right to do it—not because others do it, not because the culture allows it or even demands it, and not because of reward promised or punishment threatened—because nothing compensates for losing the right way to live or losing your soul.

Sophists: Knowledge is for political use. Knowledge is essential to succeed.

Socrates: Knowledge is for becoming virtuous. Knowledge is essential to becoming virtuous. If someone really knows and understands the good, he or she would not choose to do the bad.

Conclusion: Socrates’ view is often described as holding virtue and knowledge to be identical, so that no man knowingly does wrong. Since virtue is identical with knowledge, it can be taught, but not as a professional specialty as the Sophists had pretended to teach it. However, Socrates himself gave no final answer to how virtue can be learned.