Thrasymachus

Circa 459 BCE.

Thrasymachus of Chalcedon, who lived during the 5^th century BCE, was among the group of travelling philosopher-teachers known in Greece as Sophists.   By 427, Thrasymachus had made a name for himself as a teacher of rhetoric and also a speechwriter.  Most of what is known about Thrasymachus comes from Plato’s interpreted characterization of him in Republic, where his critique of justice creates a representative platform for the moral and political views of the Sophistic Enlightenment that occurred in Athens in the late 5^th century.

He was a well-known Sophist, a teacher of Rhetoric, and according to Plato, he was a student of Socrates.  He made the distinction between philosophy and sophistry that the philosopher sacrificed everything, including eloquence, for the truth. On the contrary, he noted that the sophist sacrificed the truth for eloquence and persuasion.  This premise leads to the profession of Sophistry being regarded as being shallow and it began to be regarded negatively.  It could be said that Thrasymachus could be considered part of the reason that rhetoric fell under suspicion as to its validity in the pursuit of truth.

Thrasymachus was characterized in Republic as a passionate dissenter against Socrates’ conclusions regarding justice.  Thrasymachus is shown in the text to be passionate, almost to the point of violence, in his rhetorical exchange with Socrates.  He goes so far as to advocate that injustice far outweighs justice, to which Socrates exposes the weaknesses of his argument.  Thrasymachus famously blushes once Socrates has “tamed him.”

Sources

Plato. Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube (rev. C.D.C. Reeve). Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992.

Rauhut, Nils. "Thrasymachus." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/thrasymachus/>. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrasymachus

"Thrasymachus." Wikipedia. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrasymachus>.