Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rollcast... who wrote (10556)	11/16/2001 1:46:27 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

opp's could have opened a can of lawyers there -g- (no disrespect to lawyers or the legal profession btw) Socrates and Plato against the Sophists With the burgeoning of democratic experiments in Athens and especially the Greek colonies in Sicily in the 5th Century BCE, there was a new awareness of the possibility (for selected "citizens") of direct participation in government. Furthermore, changes in the legal codes and institutions generated an increasing number of courts in which both civil and criminal cases were adjudicated. Law suits became an integral part of the civic culture. Because the defendants and the prosecutors each had a specific amount of time to present their case, time measured by a water-clock running while they spoke, it became advisable to learn skills in public speaking, organizing one's thoughts, and communicating effectively. A new field of education and group of educators came about to meet this need. These educators became known collectively as "sophists," from the word "sophia," meaning wisdom. Sophists were itinerant teachers who advertised their courses and charged fees which increased with the fame of the sophist. The topics focused on were disputation, rhetoric, oratory, and other techniques of communication. The chief aim of the training was to learn how to persuade. A skillful sophist could be confident that he could persuade his listener's of the truth of his presentation - whether or not he was telling the truth. anotherscene.com