#sophists

So far as the gods are concerned, I'm unable to know either that they exist or that they don't: for many things are stumbling blocks to knowing -- both the unclearness of it and the fact that a human's life is short.

FLOSTRE [addressing the ventriloquist's dummy on his knee]: You don't think much of the pre-Socratic philosophers, do you?

SOCRATES: Just a bunch of clowns spouting nonsense. The Sophists were useful, though.

FLOSTRE: How so?

SOCRATES: Well, I suppose you've heard of my Socratic method?

FLOSTRE: Who hasn't?

SOCRATES: Right. So it went like this: I'd ask some preposterous leading questions, and the other person would have to keep saying something like "Surely that is true Socrates," until they ended up agreeing to something quite ridiculous and making themselves look like complete fools.

FLOSTRE: I hadn't thought of it exactly like that.

SOCRATES: That's how it went. So you can see that it was pure show business. A crowd would gather for the laughs, and on a good day I'd make plenty of drachmas passing the petasos afterwards.

FLOSTRE: The what?

SOCRATES: Hat, to you.

FLOSTRE: And hats off to you, too. What's that got to do with the Sophists?

SOCRATES: I had to have a straight man. Sophists made for great stooges.

[A commotion off-stage. Moe, Larry and Curly run on from left. Moe stops, the other two bump into him. He turns and slaps both of them with a single motion. They line up expectantly.]

MOE: Did someone call for stooges?

CURLY: We're the orig.

[Moe strikes him on the top of the head.]

MOE [addressing Flostre]: At your service. Do we do the act now?

FLOSTRE and SOCRATES in unison: No.

CURLY [disappointed]: No?

FLOSTRE: No.

LARRY: See, I told you we could finish the hand.

[The stooges stand in silence for a moment. Moe looks grim, jerks his head towards the wings. The three of them march off briskly in single file.]

SOCRATES: What did you bring those idiots for?

FLOSTRE: We couldn't get Wittgenstein.

SOCRATES: Who he?

FLOSTRE: You don't want to know.

SOCRATES: No I don't. What I want to know is "Where are the dancing girls?"

october 2, 2022

‘We who once had understood, have now become perplexed’ ~ Plato, Sophists, 244a (trans. Anon)

                                have a listen as you read! 

if you want to be calm as you read- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXc0m9uv0p4. 

if you want to be excited as you read - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzQKID8AUHM

if you want to be in the middle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_76FD62uN0

Welcome back to my rhetoric blog! Today, the assignment is to examine a shared idea that multiple sophists advocated, and to engage this idea with some rhetorical artifact from the contemporary world. 

Sophist thought grew out of mystic thought which grew out of naturalist thought. Sophists had many beliefs in common, though many thinkers had their own distinctive opinions. 

One idea that many Sophists supported was the idea of knowledge being subjective, and while objective facts may exist, “our individual sensations of these things are all we can know of them” (Murphy, Katula, and Hoppmann 37). Gorgias specifically argues about this in this work On Not-Being. He states that nothing exists, and if anything exists, it is inapprehensible to man, and if it is apprehensible, it is still incapable of being expressed or explained to the next person ( Murphy, Katula, and Hoppmann 41). Antiphon slightly differed, since he believed that “experiences were real” (Murphy, Katula, and Hoppmann 45), Lysia’s idea of Ethopoeia adds to the idea of knowledge being subjective to the individual, where he supports “capturing the ideas, words, and style of delivery suited to the person for whom the address is written” (Murphy, Katula, and Hoppmann 49). Democritus combined different takes on this signature Sophist opinion in his summarizing statement that ‘either truth does not exist or it is hidden from us’” (Smith 44). 

This idea of truth being subjective to each person has been batted back and forth with various motivations for generations. Recently, I have noticed see questions about what truth is and the degree to which it is subjective in YouTube comments on Jacob Collier’s music. People speaking about why they like Jacob’s music bring up, often indirectly, the idea of the truth about something being subjective to the individual’s experience. 

Jacob Collier is a musician. His genre and style are basically neo-everything. His songs are marked by an otherworldly understanding of harmony and its effects, and an incredible command of music theory. 

Many of his fans are musicians themselves, attracted by Jacob’s musically complex and technical compositions. Other fans are more in the line of musical civilians. Both the very knowledgeable, and the ignorant of the names and theories behind what they are hearing enjoy Jacob’s music. 

Some believe that what makes his music great is understanding how complex it is, while others believe that it is the emotional effect, while others have a different take on what the truth about his music is. I have compiled some YouTube comments from several of his videos that explore this musical debate about appreciation. These comments remind me about debates of to what degree truth is subjective. The bold words are words that remind me of discussions about ‘what is truth’ and the degree to which it is subjective. 

washablecrown1 year ago (edited)@Mahogany it feels like he already lived several lives as a musician and knows perfectly how to touch us right in the heart. This requires so much maturity and experience 

Hunter Burnett1 year agoHis talent is unreal I never knew how much emotion music can have. And I am so glad Jacob is here to make me feel something 

Nuclear Media Entertainment1 year agoDear Universe... Please keep Jacob safe in all of his travels. The human race cannot afford to lose him. We need people like him more than ever to remind us of the beauty in all things 

OneMondBand1 year agoI can only imagine. Non-musicians have no clue what they're hearing. Mind you , most musicians also don't have a clue what they're hearing, but they know they don't have a clue. Non-musicians don't have a clue that they don't have a clue... 

RaAc1 year ago@diulikadikaday i guess that is because all of them hear it for the first time, also everything shifts so quickly. If you repeatedly listen to and watch this video you kinda get it, except for that last part, this has to be magic

epSos.de9 months agoBeautiful how obsessed he is with music. The level of this obsession to profession is what makes a genuous in his industry.

omoya7 months agoCame here for a break from crying over current events...and wound up crying over this sublime music. But what a wonderful way to ease my mind and soul..

Haukur Þórsson9 months agoThe word "musical virtuoso" doesn't even begin to describe the utter phenomenon that Jacob Collier is.  Every music instrument I've seen him touch just becomes an extension of his hands.

Loretta Chiara9 months agoListening from Italy, also quarantined at home, it's like 6 weeks now. Your songs keep us company every day, because my one year old is fascinated by you and your music. Thank you for being so special. We love you ❤