Sophist (Noun)
Meaning 1
Someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Any of a group of Greek philosophers and teachers in the 5th century BC who speculated on a wide range of subjects.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The philosopher was known for being a sophist who traveled from town to town teaching his students about rhetoric and argumentation.
- In ancient Greece, sophists were often criticized for their emphasis on teaching how to win arguments rather than seeking the truth.
- Aristotle was influenced by the ideas of the sophist Gorgias, who wrote about the nature of reality and the limits of knowledge.
- The sophist Protagoras was known for his theory that all knowledge is relative and that truth is a matter of individual opinion.
- The writings of the sophist Thrasymachus provide insight into the philosophical debates of ancient Greece, particularly in the area of ethics and politics.