Sophists and Socrates - Essay Example

        Protagoras’ law - the person is a measure of all things - better than anything characterizes the changes in people's interests. New issues have first appeared in the minds of persons, which acted mainly in Athens as teachers of all sciences and arts, which are required for active participation in public life, in the minds of sophists. The last is already not independent thinkers separated from each other, trying to understand the world and its development.

They represent a new estate, which is engaged in training to eloquence and using logical arguments as arts, naturally, this business was supervised not with a pure aspiration to get the truth, but the aspiration to shine and win in vera ball dispute Characteristic for this philosophy, dictated to sophists by conditions surrounding them and their position in life, are empiric-skeptic concerning to questions of theoretical value) and utilitarian-egoistical (with concerning tons of practical actions) points of view.

The content and volume of our knowledge are entirely defined by our sensual perceptions. Such perceptions, being subjectively changeable, cannot make valid knowledge at all. Also, our activity is always defined by minute needs. Therefore, truth is what seems true to an individual; everything is good that serves a person’s benefit.    Against this doctrine of sophists acts Socrates. Being engaged in training not as favorable employment favorable, but similarly to thinkers of the previous time, investigating questions on sense and value of things from pure aspiration to knowledge and collecting around him pupils using excitation a free interest to these questions, he, first of all, has enter the  struggle against the egoistic-utilitarian tendency of sophists, as completely harmful.

But certainly, Socrates also was a person of his time.  A person for him, as well as for sophists, a measure of things, and the discussion of separate questions of practical life, he also recognizes natural motives following from individual interests. But for his world outlook are characteristic not these private interests, but organic laws, which he censer significant for all human acts, and owing to which the specified concrete reasons of utility get other meaning.