PHIL-101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Sophist
Document Summary
Would they continue their practices if they truly looked at it. Socrates wants to ask if athenians are just going through the motions mindlessly. Socrates is horrified about his fellow athenians doing this. Its not a life worth leading, and not something worthy of the athenian status. Socrates calls out the athenians for being conformist and status seeker. Socrates asks if honor, worth, and value is just appearance. He says that they are only self interested. The prosecutors speak so terribly against him, fantasy starts playing a part against our view of the world. Basic teachers that receive a fee for teaching. The job of a sophist is to aid students in their path of self-interest. They profit from the breakdown of bonds between words and the world. Socrates is saying that they have a sophistic society, that everyone is dependent on this thinking. Socrates is quite possibly making the athenians increase their defenses by attacking them.