The Cambridge companion to the Sophists / edited by Joshua Billings, Christopher Moore.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Billings, Joshua, 1985- editor.

Moore, Christopher, 1981- editor.

Series:

Cambridge Companions to Philosophy Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sophists (Greek philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 509 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

The Classical Greek sophists - Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias, and Antiphon, among others - are some of the most important figures in the flourishing of linguistic, historical, and philosophical reflection at the time of Socrates. They are also some of the most controversial: what makes the sophists distinctive, and what they contributed to fifth-century intellectual culture, has been hotly debated since the time of Plato. They have often been derided as reactionaries, relativists or cynically superficial thinkers, or as mere opportunists, making money from wealthy democrats eager for public repute. This volume takes a fresh perspective on the sophists - who really counted as one; how distinctive they were; and what kind of sense later thinkers made of them. In three sections, contributors address the sophists' predecessors and historical and professional context; their major intellectual themes, including language, ethics, society, and religion; and their reception from the fourth century BCE to modernity.

Contents:

Sophia before the Sophists / Kathryn Morgan

Nature and Norms / Richard Bett

The Fourth-Century Creative Reception of the Sophists / Christopher Moore.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 25 Dec 2023).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781108853354

1108853358

9781108862264

1108862268

9781108859639

1108859631