Presocratic Philosophy and the Sophist Movement

Characteristics of Presocratic Thought

Presocratic philosophers lived before the sixth century BC, although some were contemporaries of Socrates.

Some characteristics of the Presocratics are:

1. They replace myths with logos.
2. Their thinking is called tragic thought because it functions as a system of opposites: day-night, hard-soft.
3. The universe is an organized whole (cosmos) that obeys certain necessary and immutable laws; it eliminates the arbitrariness of the gods.
4. Nature is dynamic and constantly moving (Heraclitus).

These thinkers have two main problems:

1. What is the constitutive principle of things?
   • The Monists think there is a single element that constitutes reality. For example, Thales of Miletus believed it was water, Anaximenes believed it was air, etc.
   • Heraclitus and the Pluralists think there are several elements constituting reality. Empedocles believed that these were the four elements.
2. The problem of the knower: The debate begins, which will last forever, on whether we know through the senses or reason. Plato will be inclined towards reason, while Aristotle believed we know through the senses, as will the Empiricists.

The Sophist Movement

The Sophist movement has had different estimations throughout history, from Plato's criticism, calling them deceivers, to now, when some of their values are recognized.

It is a movement that focuses on man, making it anthropocentric; the center of reflection is man. It is a movement of highly educated people.

General Characteristics

• They are the first dedicated to teaching.
• Their main task is education, the training of men. They want to teach Arete (the ability to succeed in public life) using two techniques:
  • Oratory: the art of speaking to convince with words.
  • Dialectic: the art of dialogue and dispute.

Doctrines

1. Conventionalism: Political laws and institutions are not universal; everything can change. The aristocrats do not agree and think there are issues that are not dependent on man, that are perpetual, such as physical laws and issues such as caste.
2. Moral Relativism: There are no absolute values; all are relative and depend on the polis (city-states).
3. Skepticism: They deny the existence of absolute truths.
4. Political Empiricism: This is a political doctrine. They are convinced of democracy. What is good and just depends on the people.

Socratic Doctrine

The Socratic method is mayeutica. Socrates is in line with knowledge. Socrates' mother was a midwife. Socrates tells us that he does the work of midwifery and helps others to bring their knowledge to the exterior. This is called mayeutica.

It has two parts:

1. The first is to pretend that the interlocutor does not know anything so that the other person externalizes all that they know.
2. The second is to talk, reflect on what has been said, and from there try to discover the truth.