A study On Protagorean objectivism
Protagoras, the first and greatest sophist in the fifth century BCE, is known to have performed professionally as a teacher of various subjects, having interests in human language, political and ethical theories and activities, and education, associating himself with major and influential politicians of his time. Ever since Platoâs interpretation of Protagorasâ Man-Measure Doctrine in the Theaetetus as a thesis of radical relativism regarding perceptual epistemology (âeach individual is the criterion of the truth of a judgement about a given object or a state of affairsâ, thus, âa thing which appears/is perceived as F to/by a is F for a, while the same thing which appears/is perceived as ÂŹF to/by b is ÂŹF for bâ), Protagoras has been criticised by intellectuals both in antiquity and modern times for self-contradiction. This thesis makes an exhaustive investigation of the ancient evidence for Protagoras and concludes that in fact it supports an objectivist reading which, if right, would absolve Protagoras of this criticism. For this purpose, I first analyse the so-called Great Speech of Platoâs Protagoras as a source for Protagorasâ ethical and political ideas (Chapter II). In the light of
Lee, Yoon Cheol
A study On Protagorean objectivism. Protagoras, the first and greatest sophist in the fifth century BCE, is known to have performed professionally as a teacher of various subjects, having interests in human language, political and ethical theories and activities, and education, associating himself with major and influential politicians of his time. Ever since Platoâs interpretation of Protagorasâ Man-Measure Doctrine in the Theaetetus as a thesis of radical relativism regarding perceptual epistemology (âeach individual is the criterion of the truth of a judgement about a given object or a state of affairsâ, thus, âa thing which appears/is perceived as F to/by a is F for a, while the same thing which appears/is perceived as ÂŹF to/by b is ÂŹF for bâ), Protagoras has been criticised by intellectuals both in antiquity and modern times for self-contradiction. This thesis makes an exhaustive investigation of the ancient evidence for Protagoras and concludes that in fact it supports an objectivist reading which, if right, would absolve Protagoras of this criticism. For this purpose, I first analyse the so-called Great Speech of Platoâs Protagoras as a source for Protagorasâ ethical and political ideas (Chapter II). In the light of
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