Sophism (gr. sophistes meaning "wise-ist," or one who 'does' wisdom, i.e. who makes a business out of wisdom; cf. sophós, "wise man", cf. also wizard) was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece.

Today, a sophism generally refers to a particularly confusing, illogical and/or insincere argument used by someone to make a point (for example, the "Chewbacca defense"). Sophistry refers to the practice of using such arguments, and is used as derogative for rhetoric that is designed to appeal to the listener on grounds other than the strict logical cogency of the statements being made.

The Sophists are known today only through the writings of their opponents (specifically Plato and Aristotle), which makes it difficult to formulate a complete view of the Sophists' beliefs. However, modern research has shown that their views were much more complex than Plato's depiction.

More on [ Sophism ]

Sophists - Twitter Search

had a dream last night i was doing standup comedy about Plato and the Sophists - Eddie Izzard would have been proud
crmcardle (Casey McArdle) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:02:29 -0000
had a dream last night i was doing standup comedy about Plato and the Sophists - Eddie Izzard would have been proud
a.Hivemind: "Persuasive Redefinition" is the renditioning of words for torture and abuse. Common in demagogues and sophists.
OsborneInk (Matt Osborne) Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:07:02 -0000
a.Hivemind: "Persuasive Redefinition" is the renditioning of words for torture and abuse. Common in demagogues and sophists.
Library search for: "the sophists" (2 matches) http://bit.ly/4tL5nc
rifasproject (Quid Pro Quo inc.) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:23:39 -0000
Library search for: "the sophists" (2 matches) http://bit.ly/4tL5nc
why people so sophists???? and others so real i mean not-good-real
Bloody_Grace ( Grace Madriaga) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:20:01 -0000
why people so sophists???? and others so real i mean not-good-real
@SaTooReal lol my topic wuz the sophist,i wrote an article about the sophists, nex pg i wrote a short bio on pericles,last pg i hav sum ads
BiqShot_Nana (Yanna ) Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:28:55 -0000
@SaTooReal lol my topic wuz the sophist,i wrote an article about the sophists, nex pg i wrote a short bio on pericles,last pg i hav sum ads
deniz ve kaan'ın neolojizmi "köpeklemek" fiilini 1gün literatüre sokucam sophists arapça kelbiyyun (köpekler)
abmoselim (selim karlıtekin) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:28:01 -0000
deniz ve kaan'ın neolojizmi "köpeklemek" fiilini 1gün literatüre sokucam sophists arapça kelbiyyun (köpekler)

Subscribe to Sophists RSS feed