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Against the Sophists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Against the Sophists is among the few Isocratic speeches that have survived from

Ancient Greece. This  polemical  text was Isocrates attempt to define Isocrates’ 

educational doctrine and to separate himself from the multitudes of other teachers of 

rhetoric. Isocrates was a sophist, an identity which carried the same level of negative

connotation as it does now. Many of the sophistic educators were characterized as

deceitful because they were more concerned with making a profit from teaching

 persuasive trickery than of producing quality orators that would promote Athenian

democracy. Isocrates was more concerned with the latter of these objectives and sought

to separate himself from these less reputable sophistic teachers. After opening his

school around 393 or 392 BCE, Isocrates wrote  Against the Sophists to clearly

distinguish his teaching methods from the commonly held view of sophisticeducation.[1] 

General AnalysisIsocrates' Criticism of the SophistsIsocrates begins his speech by defining the typical characteristics of most sophist

teachers. He makes seven clear accusations about what is wrong with their instructional

methods. The first accusation is that sophists make big promises that they cannot fulfill,

especially relating to having the ability to teach virtue  and  justice. The inconsistency

 between what the sophists claim to teach and their actual ability is Isocrates’ second

 point. They claim to teach qualities they do not possess themselves, namely truth, 

happiness  and justice. His third accusation expands this point by demonstrating that

despite claiming to teach such invaluable virtues and the wonderful art of oratory,

sophists only charge minute prices for the instruction (three or four  minae). In Isocrates’

fourth charge he establishes that if these teachers were actually capable of teaching

virtue and justice, then they would have no issue trusting their students. Yet they insist

on receiving advanced payment for their services, which clearly demonstrates their lack 

of genuine confidence either in their students or in their own teaching abilities.

Isocrates’ fifth accusation connects the sophist’s inability to teach oratory correctly and

their lack of rhetorical knowledge. He asserts that these sophists do not have enough

respect for the art of discourse to actually spend the time studying it thoroughly, and because they lack solid understanding of the art, they teach it incorrectly. Isocrates’

sixth claim condemns the techné pushed by these teachers and states that “they are

applying the analogy of an art with hard and fast rules to a creative process” (sec. 12).[2] 

Isocrates explains how much easier it is to teach a man a few universal rules and

rhetorical tricks rather than teaching him to apply the true basis of speech -- timeliness

(kairos), appropriateness  (to prepon), and originality.[3]  To justify the importance of 

distinguishing himself from other sophists, Isocrates’ final accusation proclaims “that

the bad repute which results therefrom does not affect the offenders only, but that all the

rest of us who are in the same profession share in the opprobrium” (sec. 11). In other 

words, through their mediocre and deceitful practices, these sophists give a bad

reputation to all teachers of oratory.

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Isocrates' Teaching PrinciplesDespite his intention for  Against the Sophists to be written as an outline of his own

 pedagogical principles, Isocrates only briefly mentions his own style and thought of 

 proper discourse before digressing to other criticisms of the current state of sophistry.

There are separate but relatively rare occasions where Isocrates lists his own positive

exposition of his philosophy.

In arguing against the rigid form which some sophists apply to the art of oration,

Isocrates states that, “oratory is only good if it has the qualities of fitness for the

occasion, propriety of style, and originality of treatment...” (sec. 13). He says of his ownschool of oratorical thought that, as opposed to teaching a rigid form, a proper teacher 

will instill in his students the ability to speak with fluidity and to improvise in order to

speak appropriately for the occasion.

After previously criticizing other teachers for overlooking the importance of the

innate ability of their students, Isocrates outlines the conditions necessary for a student

to become a good orator. Isocrates says, “the student must not only have the requisite

aptitude but he must learn the different kinds of discourse and practise himself in their use” (sec. 17). He goes on to say of the teacher that he, “...must so expound the

 principles of the art with the utmost possible exactness as to leave out nothing that can

 be taught” (sec. 17). Isocrates saw these three elements not only as necessary for being a

good orator but also for becoming a valuable citizen. He valued the student's

contribution, his aptitude and practice, far more than he did the teacher's. However 

Isocrates believed that a proficient teacher could instill some level of talent.[4] 

Conclusion Against the Sophists ends with Isocrates’ claim that while he cannot teach ethics and

create virtuous character  (arête), the study of discourse has the nearest potential todevelop this capacity in its students. While this is not a particularly conclusive ending to

the speech, Isocrates did go on to write the  Antidosis in 353 BC, which is a significantly

longer speech that expands Isocrates’ thoughts on discourse and its instruction. 

CriticismConnections between Against the Sophists and Plato's Gorgias Among many other reasons, scholars have placed Against the Sophists as being written

in 393 BCE because of its relation to Plato's dialogue, Gorgias. It is assumed that when

there are similarities in language found in the two works, Plato  is responding to

Isocrates.[5]

 Yun Lee Too highlights specific examples.When talking about the use of third parties by sophists to handle payment because they

do not trust their pupils, Isocrates says, “But men who inculcate virtue and sobriety -is it

not absurd if they do not trust in their own students before all others?” (sec. 6). A

similarity to this can be found in Plato's Gorgias. While also talking about the mistrust

 by sophists concerning payment, Socrates says to Callicles, “people who've become

good and just, whose injustice has been removed by their teacher and who have come to

 possess justice should wrong him-something they can't do? Don't you think that's absurd

my friend?” (519d).[6] It seems that Plato is echoing Against the Sophists  by, “criticising

them for demanding deposits against their fees since this undermines their promise to

make their students just.”[5] 

Another similarity in language is found in both Plato's and Isocrates' discussions of thestate of the mind or soul necessary for a good orator. Isocrates says of qualities of being

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a good orator, “”these things, I hold, require much study and are the task of a vigorous

and imaginative mind” (sec. 17). Yun Lee Too says that this is what is called Isocrates

“doxastic soul” or the soul with an aptitude for determining “doxa”, or the common

opinion.[5] Plato uses comparable language when he writes Socrates as saying, “I think 

there's a practice...that a mind given to making hunches takes to, a mind that's bold and

naturally clever at dealing with people” (463a). Yun Lee Too posits that Plato evolvedIsocrates' “doxastic soul” into Plato's own “stochastic soul”, or one with a shrewd

ability for guess-work .[5] 

Notes1.  ^ Kennedy (1999)

2.  ^ Isocrates (2000). p. 171 sec. 12.

3.  ^ Too (1995)

4.  ^ Bizzell(1990). p. 52.

5.  ^ a b c d  Too(1995). p. 153

6.  ^ Plato (1987). p. 103 sec. 519d.

References  Bizzell, Patricia, and Bruce Herzberg. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from

Classical times to the Present . Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1990

  Isocrates. Isocrates Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2000

  Plato. Gorgias Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1987

  Too, Yun Lee. The Rhetoric of Identity in Isocrates: Text, Power, Pedagogy. 

Cambridge [England]: Cambridge UP, 1995