Natural talent can be loosely defined as an innate ability to perform a certain skill or set of skills. In Ancient Greece, we can see Greek philosophers and sophists teaching and questioning natural talent. From Greek Hellenism, we can gather that this idea of natural talent was thought of as a gift from the gods. However, Isocrates in “Against the Sophists” talks about how those with natural talent have developed their skill though practical experience. This ties into the general theme of this era in Greek history where many people were starting to question the gods and religion.

The idea of natural talent started to become a topic of debate as education started to become more readily available for Greek citizens. People started to question if it was possible to learn and master a skill rather than having to be born with the natural ability to perform the skill. For citizens looking to develop their oratory skills so they could rise in the Greek hierarchy, this was especially important. Rather than being born into aristocracy, was it possible to develop your skills and rise to prominence?

Even today we ask similar questions about natural talent. In particular, sports and athletics typically seem to be the area where this comes into question. We can see most people, with discipline and practice, have the ability to learn a sport and master it. However, there are those that a simply physically better suited to perform certain sports. For example, Michael Phelps’ body is naturally suited for swimming due to his physical features being more hydrodynamic than the average person. We can also see this phenomenon in politicians and leaders today. Some people are simply naturally better at persuasion and leadership, however that doesn’t mean everyone can’t develop these skills. Natural talent has been an ongoing topic of debate since ancient times, so by this we can at least see that there may be some validity to the idea.

Help Received: “Against the Sophists”