Back to the Sophists

Nana Ariel corrects the record and the modern application of Sophistry.

-  NANA ARIEL

The ancient Greek Sophists are looming in the twentyfirst century, especially, it seems, in relation to Donald Trump. Patrick Lee Miller, an American philosopher who knows a thing or two about the ancient Greeks, was reminded of Plato’s critique of his Sophist contemporaries, remarking that “Such disregard for truth, such deference to popular views, such peddling of bulls**t, characterized Trump’s long campaign for the presidency.” Writer Mackenzie Karbon also declared “the rise of modern sophism in the Trump era.” Law professor Frank O. Bowman III called Trump’s impeachment defense ‘‘a well-crafted piece of sophistry that cherry-picks sources and ignores inconvenient history and precedent.” Drawing analogies between the Sophists and the culture of fake news and ‘alternative facts’ has become common too.

It is not hard to understand this tempting analogy. After all, in fifth century BC Greece, the Sophists – philosopher-teachers who wandered through Greek cities teaching students how to win arguments supposedly by any means necessary – were for many a sign of cultural and moral decadence. Their identity as teachers of effective rhetoric and as relativists, resonates with the modern emerging contempt for truth. Calling their opponents ‘Sophists’ helped people process the shock of the 2016 US elections, by reframing it historically, creating the impression that it was not a new era but rather, history repeating itself. It enabled journalists, intellectuals, and various public figures who made this analogy to position themselves on the right side of history – that of truth and justice, represented in ancient Greece by Plato, who condemned the Sophists, denouncing them as dangerous charlatans.