The Sophists were people who changed the views of greek society. They were traveling philosophers who watched the reaches of the earth gathering knowledge from all over. They did not like the traditional ideas of Greece. Greece, However, did not like them. Sophists carried with them the ideas of an enlightenment along with a grand amount of currency. The Sophists were paid greatly for their teachings. They only taught to the wealthy. The sophists were the first to truly use rhetoric. Calling their rhetoric “magic” because they could use it to influence almost anyone.
A very significant movement, the sophist shaped rhetoric to its very core for today. They took rhetoric and turned it into a way of making money. A way of influencing a group of people to change and pay them. This “magic” of theirs was powerful and allowed for the rhetoric of today to take place.
The Sophists were not necessarily philosophers but they were rhetoricians and trained teachers of rhetoric. Who they were, and where they came from, was a large part of the controversy that surrounded their practices. While the fact that they were paid for their teaching also contributed to suspicions about them, do you think it was their primary motivation? What other motives might they have had?
I think you’re absolutely right when you say that rhetoric is powerful (or a source of power over others). Where is this evident today? Who are the most visible practitioners of rhetoric now?
Remember also to write a “reflective tag” for the artifact (in this case, the reading response). Discuss your own learning by addressing three questions: 1) What did you learn? 2) Why is it significant? 3) What might you wish to know (or do) next?
Please ask if you have questions about any of my comments here.
Regards,
COL McDonald