Sophistes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A practitioner of ancient Greek philosophical thinking, often associated with skilled rhetoric and persuasive argumentation
2. One who specializes in teaching wisdom and ethical reasoning, usually in the context of debate and argumentation
3. An intellectual adept known for advanced teachings in philosophy and the art of persuasion, sometimes regarded with skepticism regarding their moral practices

Etymology: Ancient Athens was full of paid teachers, and the Greek "sophistes" was simply a practitioner of "sophia", wisdom or skill, so the word once described any expert who taught for a fee. The term was not an insult at first. Its reputation fell during the fifth century BCE, when figures such as Protagoras and Gorgias taught rhetoric and argument to young men who wanted to win lawsuits and political debates. Plato and Aristotle, who thought these teachers sold cleverness rather than truth, gave the word the negative edge it now carries in English as "sophist", meaning a clever but deceptive reasoner. In English the word is a borrowing from Greek, and it still carries that older sense of a professional teacher. Because of Plato's critique, the Greek term became a byword for specious argument, so the word has moved from a respectable job title to a label for empty cleverness. Its root, "sophos", meaning wise or skilled, also gave English "sophisticated" and "philosophy", the love of wisdom.