The video of interest is that by Demizmue, who gives a history of sophistry. The video shows that Socrates is not a sophist. Therefore, he is a role model for successively arguing that truth is not relative. Socrates stands out from the rest of the philosophers of his time. The case is so because of his unique way of thinking about reality, human nature, and existence.
Socrates was murdered for having a different perspective on life and society from the general public. He questioned the status quo by differing from the sophistry. Notably, sophistry refers to the art of developing persuasive but eventually misleading and fallacious arguments (Demizmue, 2020). Sophistry resulted from the widespread notion of the time that truth was relative. As a result, the philosophers believed in the independence of their opinions and the right for others not to infringe, mock, or question their worldviews. For instance, Protagoras convinced people that truth depends on the ability of an individual to convince others about a given concept regardless of the logic (or lack thereof) embedded in the reasoning (Demizmue, 2020).
However, as Demizmue (2020) informs, sophistry brought about a conundrum about “the relationship between law and nature, the social and natural world, nomos and physics.” The puzzle made people have opposing and irreconcilable claims about different things in areas of religion, politics, and art.
However, Socrates believes that truth is not relative, and through continuous investigation, one may become exposed to the truth about a given subject. Socrates’ idea of non-relative truth made him conflict with many people from different fields and backgrounds because he believed that only God was all-knowing, and people needed to accept that man is not a measure of all things. Socrates believes that nature had more answers in pursuing truth than man. In this context, a man refers to either an individual or a group of people with commonality, such as working in the same profession. Socrates found out that people know most things about a given subject. Therefore, they remain clueless about numerous things.
Therefore, it was improper for people to depend on their relative perception of truth since they do not have the whole perspective. For instance, he asserted that he is better than politicians, artisans, and poets because he has consulted them all and has a wider scope of knowledge than the others. He stated, “although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know” (The Center for Hellenistic Studies, 2020). His idea was that sociological constructions do not represent the truth as much nature does, and it is through the naturally existing curiosity of humankind that truth can become known.
For this reason, he revolutionized the focus of philosophy from looking at the outside world to concentrating on people’s inner selves (History, 2019). As a result, he dismissed the idea that human beings have a weakness of will. Based on self-reflection, he argued that people always have the power to resist what they know is wrong or bad, but they weigh the benefits and costs of their actions to decide what to do (History, 2019).
The idea is correct (truth) because it remains a significant concept in criminology called the rational choice theory. In other words, criminals are not weak in choosing the right thing to do, but they weigh the possibility and repercussions of punishment for committing a crime and evaluate it against the benefits to decide whether to offend others. As such, Socrates brought forth the idea that there is a single truth about each subject, but it takes humility to accept one does not know everything to begin understanding reality objectively. He modeled the philosophy of inner reflection to understand the world.
References
The Center for Hellenistic Studies. (2020). Plato, The Apology of Socrates. Web.
Demizmue. (2020). THE Sophist, Truth, Nomos and Physis [Video]. Web.
History. (2019). Socrates. Web.