Home > AS level Philosophy and Ethics
Question: Is there any good reason to believe that Socrates was different from the other sophists?
Answer: Sophocles is said to not be what is a ‘sophist’ or professional particularly by Plato and in some ways Plato argues that Socrates is not a teacher at all. With Plato’s depiction of Socrates, Socrates is most certainly not a teacher, whereas Xenophon and Aristophanes are quite accepting of the idea that Socrates is indeed a teacher or ‘sophist’. Plato claims that Socrates not being a sophist is attributed to the technique that Socrates uses to ask and answer questions. Plate makes out his answers are presented, somewhat ironically, as something of a divine quest, as shown by Chaerephon’s question at Delphi of “Is anyone wiser than Socrates?” with the answer being that there is no-one. Socrates uses a form of ‘mock-modesty’ by saying that he has “no claim to wisdom great or small”.
Socrates is similar sophists in using a technique named Elenchus, or certainly in...(short extract)
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- Subject: Philosophy
- Course: AS level Philosophy and Ethics
- Level: A-Level
- Year: Not applicable
- Mark: Not available
- Words: 725
- Date submitted: October 19, 2016
- Date written: Not available
- References: No
- Document type: Essay*
- Essay ID: 7616
