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SOPHISTS' MORALITY.

Defends Sophists' view that good & bad are not objective values but are determined by custom & preference.

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This study will evaluate and defend the Sophist view that virtually nothing is good or bad by nature, but that good and bad are matters of custom and preference. The Sophists believed that nothing universal or absolute can be known about good or bad, simply because to them everything is relative and subjective, and depends on individual and cultural perception. With the endless contradictions among men regarding definitions of good and bad, the Sophists concluded that nothing could be known absolutely in terms of ethics or in any other significant category of inquiry.
Like Socrates, the Sophists turned to the study of man and human behavior, turning away from the material world of nature which the earlier Greek philosophers had studied. The study of the material world would seem more likely to yield definite conclusions than the study of human behavior, but even the

It put a premium on individual judgment, thus favoring the trends of the time towards democracy and egalitarianism. This uncertainty holds true in the moral as well as the physicalrealm. . New York: Henry Holt, 1923.Luce, J.V. encyclopedic knowledge of different cultures made them skeptical about the possibility of attaining any absolute truth by which a society might order its life (Stumpf 32). The Sophists, on the other hand, honored thecommon man by leaving such judgments up to the individual. upon moral standards made necessary a thoroughgoing study of the behavior of human beings, to see whether after all there might not be discovered certain aims, and certain means and methods of realizing them, which could be regarded as common to all men alike (Fuller 249). . In fact, the Sophists spent much of their time not indecimating arguments for such absolute truth, but in giving practicaladvice on how to live. The modern image of the Sophists as men who spent all their timecynically scoffing at efforts to find absolute truth is an inaccurate andunfair image. They offered to their client good counsel, in family matters, namely the expert management of one's own household, and good counsel in public matters, namely how to contribute most effectively by speech and action in the affairs of their city (Luce 8 ). The Sophists concluded that there is noway to know absolute good or bad, but with their practical and effectiveadvice they spent most of their time doing what at least appears to be goodfor individuals, families, and the entire society. The Sophists believed that nothing universal orabsolute can be known about good or bad, simply because to them everythingis relative and subjective, and depends on individual and culturalperception. History of Greek Philosophy. There is no way to distinguish between "appearance" and "reality" (Stumpf 34). The Sophisticmovement assures [the individual] that he is the best judge of truth. Like Socrates, the Sophists turned to the study of man and humanbehavior, turning away from the material world of nature which the earlierGreek philosophers had studied. In order to maintain social order ratherthan a faithfulness to the truth, Plato invents the "noble lie." This lieis that the citizens' long training to be soldiers, farmers, craftsmen,etc., was "only something they seemed to experience as it were in a dream.In reality they were the whole time down inside the earth, being molded"and then sent up by the earth to work their jobs for the rest of theirlives (Stumpf 75). . the absence of the gods as a sounding board for morality or goodnessleaves human beings right back where they were in the first place--withthemselves and their individual and cultural perceptions, conventions,preferences and prejudices, which are not much to build an absolutedefinition of goodness upon. This preposterous lie is the cornerstone of the idealsociety envisioned by Socrates/Plato. New York: McGraw- Hill,1966.----------------------- 6 . This does not mean that the Sophistsabandoned hope of doing what seemed to be good, or teaching others to dogood. The Sophists simply saw that there is no way to know what theabsolute, objective good or bad, and then they wisely went on to moreimportant and practical matters. [and] that between masters and slaves, based upon evidence or simply upon prejudice. This study will evaluate and defend the Sophist view that virtuallynothing is good or bad by nature, but that good and bad are matters ofcustom and preference. The Sophists hardly believed that individuals should not be good. The Sophists can also be said to represent more honestly theprinciples of democracy and freedom than Socrates and Plato who, after all,positioned themselves as superior to the common man in determining whatabsolute good and bad were. The Sophists openly declarethat they are practical men, but Plato claims to be an idealist basing hisperfect society on absolute good. London: Thames & Hudson,1992.Stumpf, Samuel Enoch. Therefore, Knowledge is measured by what we perceive, and if there is something about each person that makes him perceive things in a different way, there is no standard for testing whether one person's perception is right and another person's wrong. . The human mind, and its reason, logic and rhetoriccan argue either side, but they cannot come to any true conclusion aboutgoodness, simply because the definition of goodness depends on who is doingthe defining. The Sophists' . The study of the material world would seemmore likely to yield definite conclusions than the study of human behavior,but even the material philosophers disagreed with one another about thevery substance of which things were made. The fact that the Sophists were well-paid for their efforts is not alegitimate criticism, any more than the fact that Plato was well-paid isfair criticism of his philosophy, or that psychologists today are well-paidis fair criticism of their philosophy. The Sophists' attack on the idea that a universal definition of goodand bad could be achieved forced arrogant philosophers such as Plato todefend themselves and their ideas, which had previously been acceptedblindly. What kind of perfectly good and justsociety is built on a lie which treats its citizens like the imbeciles theywould have to be to believe such a falsehood. They profoundly helped many Greeks live better private and publiclives with their teachings, but they did not pretend, as Plato and othersdid, that they could impose their individual standards on others. . . If goodness is anabsolute, then the perfect society should be built on that absolute.However, in The Republic, Socrates (or Plato) argues that this allegedlyperfect society, allegedly based on absolute truth, goodness and justice,must instead be built on a lie. . In reality, however, precisely like theSophists, Plato opts for practical ends--social order and control of thepeople with a "noble lie." To whoever argues that reliance of God or gods for instruction inwhat is good or bad, Protagoras, the most famous of the Sophists, declares: About the gods, I am not able to know whether they exist or do not exist, nor what they are like in form; for the factors preventing knowledge are many: the obscurity of the subject, and the shortness of human life (Stumpf 34). . The Sophists, then, werehardly mere hecklers of Socrates, but instead put much effort into doingrelative good rather than discoursing about some abstract, absolute good. The Sophists were from cities other than Athens, and theyquestioned the findings of the Athenian philosophers, such as Socrates,with respect to their findings: Was [Athenians'] distinction between Greeks and barbarians . How, then, can anyone blame theSophists for calling into question everything the Greek philosophersclaimed about absolute goodness? . One societycondones cannibalism, another celebrates polygamy, another (such as that ofthe great Greeks) champions slavery as a natural state for some. Of course, to the Sophists, no such common aims, mean or methodscould be established objectively, again, because every man should be and isthe judge of what is good or bad. An Introduction to Greek Philosophy. Not only do individuals disagree with one another aboutgood and bad, but entire societies and cultures disagree as to whatconstitutes moral or immoral, ethical or unethical behavior. Socrates went one way--trying to come to dependable definitions ofabsolute good and bad. Tothe contrary, Protagoras believed, says Luce, that "truth consists inbeliefs and opinions which work to the benefit of an individual or acommunity" (Luce 82). The Sophists are more than justified in concluding that nophilosopher or team of philosophers could ever possibly solve thecontradictions among those individuals and societies. The challenge of the Sophists and their skeptical attack . The dialogues of Socrates, recorded and/or created by Plato, areessentially expressions of Plato's/Socrates' contempt for theiradversaries. Therefore, to the Sophists, itwas absurd to argue that such intangibles as good and bad could ever beclearly defined. UnlikePlato with the "noble lie" which betrayed his idealism and his notion ofabsolute good, the Sophists lived up to the practical principles which theypreached. From Socrates to Sartre. . . The Sophists went the other way--arguing that eitherside of every question could be effectively argued by using the tools andtechniques of rhetoric. . Works CitedFuller, B.A.G. If a breeze feels warm to a person whose body is cold, and feelscool to another person whose body is hot, then how can anybody ever agreeon an absolute definition of good or bad, when good or bad are far morecomplex than a breeze? Applying the Sophists' standards to the work of Plato, for example,reveals that Socrates--if Plato is reporting his ideas accurately--did notalways practice the kind of truth-seeking he said he did. . With the endless contradictions among men regarding definitionsof good and bad, the Sophists concluded that nothing could be knownabsolutely in terms of ethics or in any other significant category ofinquiry. Custom,preference and prejudice among both individuals and cultures determine whatis good or bad. It also represented a plea for tolerance and freedom of opinion (Luce 82). The dialogues are a set-up in which Socrates is shown toeasily trounce his foes. .

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