Editing Sophist (section)

====Athens====
The sophists were the first formal teachers of the art of speaking and writing in the Western world. Their influence on education in general, and medical education in particular, has been described by Seamus Mac Suibhne.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mac Suibhne | first1 = Seamus | date = Jan 2010 | title = Sophists, sophistry, and modern medical education | journal = Medical Teacher | volume = 32 | issue = 1| pages = 71–75 | pmid = 20095778 | doi=10.3109/01421590903386799| s2cid = 36624580 }}</ref> The sophists "offer quite a different epistemic field from that mapped by Aristotle", according to scholar [[Susan Jarratt]], writer of ''[[Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured]].''

For the sophists, the science of eloquence became a method to earn money. In order to teach their students the art of persuasion and demonstrate their thoughts, they focused on two techniques: [[dialectic]]s and [[rhetoric]]. The sophists taught their students two main techniques: the usage of sophisms and contradictions. These means distinguished the speeches of the sophists from the other speakers. Contradictions (antithesis <ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Hegel's Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis Model |pages=978 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_200183 |last1=Schnitker |first1=Sarah A. |last2=Emmons |first2=Robert A. |isbn=978-1-4020-8264-1 }}</ref>) were important to the Sophists because they believed that a good rhetorician should be able to defend both his own opinion and the exact opposite one. In this way, was developed the ability to find clear, convincing arguments for any thesis. For the sophists, the primary purpose was to win the dispute in order to prove their excellence in word usage. They were convinced that there was no verity, but there were different opinions, equal in importance, and the "verity" was the only one that would be more convincingly demonstrated by the rhetorician.

Sophists were not limited in their speeches only to topics in which they were aware. For them, there were no topics they could not dispute, because their skill reached such a level that they were able to talk about completely unknown things to them and still impress upon listeners and the opponent. The main purpose was to pick an approach to the audience, to please it and to adapt the speech to it. Unlike [[Plato]]'s approach, the Sophist rhetoricians did not focus on identifying the truth, but the most important thing for them was to prove their case.

The first sophist whose speeches are a perfect example of a sophisticated approach is Gorgias. One of his most famous speeches is the "Praise of Helen", which has made a significant contribution to rhetorical art. In this speech, Gorgias aims to make something almost impossible – to justify Helen, about whom the people have already had a negative opinion. By methods of double oppositions, stringing of repetitive positive qualities and insightful consistent arguments, Gorgias gradually purifies the poor reputation of a woman. Later, [[Aristotle]] described the means used in Gorgias' speech as "Gorgias figures". All of these figures create the most accessible path for the audience to the argument offered, varying depending on the type of speech and audience.