Plato's Euthydemus and Modern-Day Sophists
Channel: Professor McCoige
Date: 2021-11-24

In this lecture we discuss Plato's dialogue Euthydemus, in which Socrates recounts to his old friend Crito an encounter with a pair of Sophists, Euthydemus and his brother Dionysodorus. We'll use this dialogue to discuss sophists and sophistry throughout the ages. Part of the dialogue is included here, closely adapted for spoken presentation, including the laughter of two of the characters. You will find the citation below, along with some other related materials. The third section cited, 278e-282d, is only discussed in this lecture, not adapted directly.

Citations:
Plato, Euthydemus, trans. Rosamond Kent Sprague (295a-299a, 301e-303a, 278e-282d).
Free ebook version of this translation: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1598
Full text of a different (and in my view somewhat inferior) translation of the Euthydemus: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthydemus.html
Trial clip from Law&Crime Network: https://youtu.be/eAJTyt55pqM
Music: "Scheming Weasel" by Kevin MacLeod
Thumbnail art from gprime85

Related Materials:
My lecture on Book II of Plato's Republic, and which goods are intrinsic, and which are extrinsic: https://youtu.be/V10GAffjIhE
My lecture on Book VIII of the Republic, which discusses the negative consequences of acting without wisdom: https://youtu.be/_fjwt9vWj6A
A provisional reconstruction of Aristotle's Protrepticus or Exhortation to Philosophy: http://www.protrepticus.info/

00:00 Who were the Sophists?
04:00 About the Dialogue
06:19 Excerpt from the Dialogue
20:14 A Modern Sophist
21:33 Exhortation to Philosophy
30:30 Outro