The Cambridge Companion to the Sophists (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)

Introduces the Sophists and their time: a period of cultural enlightenment in thought, language, pedagogy, and performance.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. 51jtU-sV2RL._SL1500_.jpg 04.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 05.0_pp_v_vi_Contents 06.0_pp_vii_ix_Contributors 07.0_pp_x_x_Note_on_the_Text 08.0_pp_1_30_Introduction 09.0_pp_31_154_Contexts 09.1_pp_33_68_Sophia_before_the_Sophists 09.2_pp_69_97_The_Sophists_between_Aristocracy_and_Democracy 09.3_pp_98_123_The_Professional_Lives_of_the_Sophists 09.4_pp_124_154_The_Sophists_in_the_Fifth-Century_Enlightenment 10.0_pp_155_334_Thought 10.1_pp_157_178_Nature_and_Norms 10.2_pp_179_199_The_Turn_to_Language 10.3_pp_200_224_Problems_of_Being 10.4_pp_225_250_Politics_in_Theory_and_Practice 10.5_pp_251_276_Interrogating_the_Gods 10.6_pp_277_305_Skills_of_Argument 10.7_pp_306_334_Civic_and_Anti-Civic_Ethics 11.0_pp_335_437_Receptions 11.1_pp_337_369_The_Fourth-Century_Creative_Reception_of_the_Sophists 11.2_pp_370_402_Writing_the_First_Sophistic 11.3_pp_403_437_The_Sophists_in_the_History_of_Philosophy 12.0_pp_438_461_Appendix_The_People_of_the_Sophistic_Period 13.0_pp_462_497_Select_Bibliography 14.0_pp_498_509_Index 15.0_pp_510_512_OTHER_VOLUMES_IN_THE_SERIES_OF_CAMBRIDGE_COMPANIONS_continued_from_page_ii "A comprehensive introduction to the Classical Greek sophists, placing them afresh in their cultural context. These public figures, such as Protagoras and Gorgias, were wide-ranging experts before discipline-specialization, and represent the flourishing of linguistic, historical, and philosophical reflection in the time of Socrates"-- Provided by publisher