SOPHIST

Sophist by Plato The Sophist (Greek: Σοφιστ?ς; Latin: Sophista) is a Platonic dialogue from the philosophers late period, most likely written in 360 BC. In it the interlocutors, led by Eleatic Stranger employ the method of division in order to classify and define the sophist and describe his essential attributes and differentia vis a vis the philosopher and statesman. Like its sequel, the Statesman, the dialogue is unusual in that Socrates is present but plays only a minor role.

Instead, the Eleatic Stranger takes the lead in the discussion. Because Socrates is silent, it is difficult to attribute the views put forward by the Eleatic Stranger to Plato, beyond the difficulty inherent in taking any character to be an authors "mouthpiece".

The main objective of the dialogue is to identify what a sophist is and how a sophist differs from a philosopher and statesman. Because each seems distinguished by a particular form of knowledge, the dialogue continues some of the lines of inquiry pursued in the epistemological dialogue, Theaetetus, which is said to have taken place the day before.

Because the Sophist treats these matters, it is often taken to shed light on Platos Theory of Forms and is compared with the Parmenides, which criticized what is often taken to be the theory of forms.