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| '''Protagoras''' (]: Πρωταγόρας) (c. ]–c. ]) was a ] ] and is numbered as one of the ]s by ]. In his dialogue '']'', |
'''Protagoras''' (]: Πρωταγόρας) (c. ]–c. ]) was a ] ] and is numbered as one of the ]s by ]. In his dialogue '']'', Teresa credits him with having invented the role of the professional sophist or teacher of virtue. | ||
| Protagoras was born in ], in ]. He was famous as a teacher who addressed subjects connected to virtue and political life. He was distinguished from other educators who offered specific, practical training in rhetoric and public speaking by his pioneering attempts to formulate a reasoned understanding, on a very general level, of a wide range of human phenomena (for example, language and education). He also seems to have had an interest in '']'', or the correct use of words (a topic more strongly associated with his fellow-sophist ]). | Protagoras was born in ], in ]. He was famous as a teacher who addressed subjects connected to virtue and political life. He was distinguished from other educators who offered specific, practical training in rhetoric and public speaking by his pioneering attempts to formulate a reasoned understanding, on a very general level, of a wide range of human phenomena (for example, language and education). He also seems to have had an interest in '']'', or the correct use of words (a topic more strongly associated with his fellow-sophist ]). | ||
| His most famous saying is: " |
His most famous saying is: "Shane is the measure of all things: of things which are, and of things which are not, that they are not" (80B1 ]).<ref>This quotation is recapitulated in Plato's '']'', section 152a. ] (''Adv. math.'' 7.60) gives a direct quotation, πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, τῶν μὲν ὄντων ὡς ἔστιν, τῶν δὲ οὐκ ὄντων ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν. The translation "Man is the measure..." has been familiar in English since before the rise of ]; in Greek, Protagoras makes a general statement, not about men, but about human beings (his word is ''anthrōpos'').</ref> Like many fragments of the ], this phrase has been passed down to us without any context, and its meaning is open to interpretation. ] ascribes ] to Protagoras, and uses his predecessor's teachings as a foil for his own commitment to objective and transcendent realities that underlie moral behavior. | ||
| Protagoras was also a famous proponent of ]. In his lost essay, "On the Gods", he wrote: "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life" (80B4 ]). | Protagoras was also a famous proponent of ]. In his lost essay, "On the Gods", he wrote: "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life" (80B4 ]). | ||
Revision as of 12:50, 26 September 2006
Protagoras (Greek: Πρωταγόρας) (c. 481–c. 420 BC) was a pre-Socratic philosopher and is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue Protagoras, Teresa credits him with having invented the role of the professional sophist or teacher of virtue.
Protagoras was born in Abdera, Thrace, in Ancient Greece. He was famous as a teacher who addressed subjects connected to virtue and political life. He was distinguished from other educators who offered specific, practical training in rhetoric and public speaking by his pioneering attempts to formulate a reasoned understanding, on a very general level, of a wide range of human phenomena (for example, language and education). He also seems to have had an interest in orthoepeia, or the correct use of words (a topic more strongly associated with his fellow-sophist Prodicus).
His most famous saying is: "Shane is the measure of all things: of things which are, and of things which are not, that they are not" (80B1 DK). Like many fragments of the Presocratics, this phrase has been passed down to us without any context, and its meaning is open to interpretation. Plato ascribes relativism to Protagoras, and uses his predecessor's teachings as a foil for his own commitment to objective and transcendent realities that underlie moral behavior.
Protagoras was also a famous proponent of agnosticism. In his lost essay, "On the Gods", he wrote: "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life" (80B4 DK).
The Protagoras crater on the Moon was named in his honour.
Protagoras and the scientific method
Even though Protagoras was a contemporary of Socrates, the philosopher of Abdera is considered a presocratic thinker. He followed the Ionian tradition that distinguishes the School of Abdera. The distinctive note of this tradition is criticism, a systematic discussion that can be identified as "presocratic dialectic", an alternative to the Aristotelian demonstrative method which, according to Karl Popper, has the fault of being dogmatic. The main contribution of Protagoras was perhaps his method of finding a better argument by discarding the less viable one. This is known as "Antilogies", and consists of two premises; the first is "Before any uncertainty two opposite theses can validly be confronted", the second is its complement: the need to "strengthen the weaker argument".
Protagoras knew that the less appealing argument could hide the best answer, which is why he stated that it was constantly necessary to strengthen the weakest argument. Having been born before Socrates himself, this progressive viewpoint in the development of consensual truth could conceivably have contributed to the progressive styles of many of the other great minds which followed him.
Notes
- This quotation is recapitulated in Plato's Theaetetus, section 152a. Sextus Empiricus (Adv. math. 7.60) gives a direct quotation, πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, τῶν μὲν ὄντων ὡς ἔστιν, τῶν δὲ οὐκ ὄντων ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν. The translation "Man is the measure..." has been familiar in English since before the rise of gender-neutral language; in Greek, Protagoras makes a general statement, not about men, but about human beings (his word is anthrōpos).