Sophism or sophism means thought or rhetoric that seeks to mislead , presented with apparent logic and meaning , but with contradictory foundations and with the intention of deceiving . Sophism definition
Currently, a sophistic speech is considered an argument that supposedly presents the truth, but its real intention lies in the idea of error, motivated by a misleading behavior, in an attempt to deceive and deceive.
In a popular sense, a fallacy can be interpreted as a lie or an act of bad faith.
Sophism should not be confused with paralogism , which is also based on false reasoning, a fallacy or illogical thinking, but with the difference that it is done in good faith . Paralogism is related to ignorance, when the individual is not aware of his falsehood. Sophism definition
However, the definition of sophism has changed a great deal over the centuries. In Ancient Greece, for example, the term was used in the sense of “transmitting wisdom” through techniques of rhetoric and argumentation.
Etymologically, sophism derives from the Greek sophisma , where sophia or sophos respectively mean “wisdom” and “wise”. This word came to denote all knowledge of general human affairs.
The sophists of ancient Greece were known to be important teachers, who traveled through the cities and taught their students the art of rhetoric, which was very important for anyone wishing to pursue political life.
The sophists were considered masters in the techniques of speech, making the interlocutor quickly believe what he said, whether it was true or not.
The main commitment of the sophists would be to make the public believe what they said, and not to search for the truth or to instigate this feeling in the interlocutor. Sophism definition
Socrates was one of the main opponents of sophistic thought, who furthermore hated the high fees that sophistic teachers charged their students.
Plato and Aristotle were also important philosophers who challenged sophism, which since then has taken on a pejorative connotation as a form of intellectual dishonesty.
examples of sophisms
As stated, a sophism is an apparently logical argument whose premises do not support the conclusion. To illustrate the subject, see the examples:
“If love is blind, and God is love, then God is blind.”
“Those who don’t work have a lot of free time. If time is money, those who don’t work are rich.”
“If eating vegetables got thin, elephants and hippos wouldn’t be fat.”
sophism and syllogism
The syllogism is a philosophical thought presented by Aristotle, which has an intrinsic relationship with the definition of sophism. Sophism definition
Syllogism would be the idea of joining two premises in order to reach a conclusion , based on deduction.
For example: “ Every human being is mortal ” (premise 1) / “ John is a human being ” (premise 2) / “ Therefore, John is mortal ” (conclusion).
Even being a logical thought, the syllogism can present wrong conclusions, characterizing itself as a sophistical syllogism.
