Sophistical Rhetoric in Classical Greece

An expert in rhetoric offers a new perspective on the ancient concept of sophistry, exploring why Plato, Isocrates, and Aristotle found it objectionable. In Sophistical Rhetoric in Classical Greece , John Poulakos argues that a proper understanding of sophistical rhetoric requires a grasp of three cultural dynamics of the fifth century B.C.: the logic of circumstances, the ethic of competition, and the aesthetic of exhibition. Traced to such phenomena as everyday practices, athletic contests, an