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  • The Sophists...

    Around 400 to 500 years BC a group emerged in ancient Greece known as the Sophists. They were professional arguers... by the use of persuasive logic and impressive rhetoric they could win any argument - the merits of the argument were of little interest to them - winning was what mattered...

    For any aspiring young nobleman who fancied a career in politics, a learning of sophistry was essential - the Greeks liked to debate things... for those who lacked the necessary skills, the sophists would hire themselves out - and do the necessary arguing on behalf of them - often against other sophists, for considerable fees... you can see where elements of our modern adversarial legal system stemmed from...

    For hundreds of years the sophists were at the centre of power and wealth - but they were not without their critics - Aristotle, Plato and Socrates while acknowledging their skill, attacked the lack of any underlying ethics or search for truth in their rhetoric...

    My point in all this ? I'm wondering if, in the internet era - and in forums in particular - whether sophism is set to re-emerge as a life skill to be developed - and whether there's any money in it... lol !!!
    Everything is self-evident.

  • #2
    cogs,
    i think sophism is already on the forums.... remember .ie ...gold medals in sophism... theres a couple on here knocking on the door.. a very interesting topic all the same ,couldn`t argue with that.
    in god i trust...everyone else cash only.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by cosmo View Post
      cogs,
      i think sophism is already on the forums.... remember .ie ...gold medals in sophism... theres a couple on here knocking on the door.. a very interesting topic all the same ,couldn`t argue with that.
      I'll argue your case for you, Cosmo, for a suitable fee, and if you just give me
      the general gist of it.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by KatieMorag View Post
        I'll argue your case for you, Cosmo, for a suitable fee, and if you just give me
        the general gist of it.
        in that case katie, we`d both be wrong!!
        an old cow boy goe`s into a bar , he sits beside a lady, the lady says " i`v been sitting here all day long drinking and thinking of women" ,i think i`m a lesbian. later on a couple sit next to him and ask "are you a real old cowboy" he replies " i used to think i was, but now i think i`m a lesbian". ...not exactly sophy, more syollogy.
        in god i trust...everyone else cash only.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by cosmo View Post
          in that case katie, we`d both be wrong!!
          an old cow boy goe`s into a bar , he sits beside a lady, the lady says " i`v been sitting here all day long drinking and thinking of women" ,i think i`m a lesbian. later on a couple sit next to him and ask "are you a real old cowboy" he replies " i used to think i was, but now i think i`m a lesbian". ...not exactly sophy, more syollogy.
          Crikey...had to look that one up....still don't understand it lol....maybe sophistry isn't the career for me after all.......

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          • #6
            we`ll leave it to cogs, he reads this stuff during his lunch breaks.
            in god i trust...everyone else cash only.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by cosmo View Post
              we`ll leave it to cogs, he reads this stuff during his lunch breaks.
              Probably the origin of the phrase "food for thought": Cogs reading Socrates
              between beakfuls of doughnut.
              Last edited by KatieMorag; 13-10-2012, 06:00 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by cosmo View Post
                in that case katie, we`d both be wrong!!
                an old cow boy goe`s into a bar , he sits beside a lady, the lady says " i`v been sitting here all day long drinking and thinking of women" ,i think i`m a lesbian. later on a couple sit next to him and ask "are you a real old cowboy" he replies " i used to think i was, but now i think i`m a lesbian". ...not exactly sophy, more syollogy.
                Sorta like the kid who starts philosophy and the teacher says"if there were three crows sitting on a wire ,why would they leave?".......All the kids say nothing except the wise-0ass who says ...................'because someone shot at them?"....to which the teacher says........."no, but i like your way of thinking"................the teacher sits back and notices the same kid with his hand up and she asks him what he wants.?................The kid asks if he can ask a philosophical question to which the teascher says yes...........The kid says"if there were three women sitting on a park bench and each of them had a banana,one was eating it,one was licking it and the other was biting it.............which one is married?..........The teacher thinks and not wanting to look like a gobshite says........................"the one licking it".................to which the kid says.................."no,the one with the wedding ring..........,but i like your way of thinking"

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                • #9
                  I like that one Tolka. Funny thing though I work with greeks, and I think that sophisty has been well and truly lost on them, as they rarely listen to each other, just like to shout a lot..and that is when they are happy..hee..hee.

                  We do try here but sometimes people get a bee in their bonnet. Does sophisty lead on to sophistication.?
                  today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by silver spoon View Post
                    I like that one Tolka. Funny thing though I work with greeks, and I think that sophisty has been well and truly lost on them, as they rarely listen to each other, just like to shout a lot..and that is when they are happy..hee..hee.

                    We do try here but sometimes people get a bee in their bonnet. Does sophisty lead on to sophistication.?
                    Cogs hasn't replied to anyone here............How long do those lunch breaks last for ..????
                    Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is mystery, Today is a gift.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by sheelbee View Post
                      Cogs hasn't replied to anyone here............How long do those lunch breaks last for ..????
                      He got into a row, and needed the help of whatsimacallit?
                      today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

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                      • #12
                        I don't see how anyone would want to use the services of a sophist....where's
                        the fun in having a good argy-bargy if you don't get stuck in yourself?

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                        • #13
                          I think theyd be a very boring species to live with....my fella is a wanna be lol......but i learned years ago how to close the arguement

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by sheelbee View Post
                            Cogs hasn't replied to anyone here........
                            Haven't been paid yet...
                            Everything is self-evident.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Say you employed one sophist and the other team's sophist was better, would
                              your sophist be paid if he lost the argument? Or did the argument just continue forever and the sophists got a monthly pay packet, with bonuses if
                              they performed particularly well?

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