The Strength of the Weak: Aristotle’s Critique of the Sophists

In progress, the birth of instincts occurs. Values have indeed declined, and past asceticism has vanished. Modernity outwardly has confidence in this disintegration, which means that the leading act of new immorality did not start from the soul itself. Instincts exist not as something scarce but as something that executes. Reversal occurs through deciding and acting differently from what decadence desires. People should strive to make the weaker stronger. According to Aristotle, this is the aspect contained in the works of the sophists. Aristotle criticizes the sophists' claims and arguments, saying that through this, we can understand what sophistry is.

The Sophistic Dual Argument

Sophists (Gorgias, Pythagoras, Prodicus) were those who taught how to publicly argue both a proposition and its opposite, regardless of the subject. This discourse is called dual argument. In political arguments or courts, we must assert or refute certain arguments. The first means used here is refutation, proving that the opponent’s argument is based on false premises or conclusions. Another means is the method of correction, acknowledging that the opponent is mostly right but has overlooked the perspectives of others. Here we see a perfect example of reversal frequently used in politics, which Aristotle criticizes angrily. This is one typical example of sophistry's work in making weaker arguments stronger. Corax’s art is detestable here because arguments follow the same context and create similarly confusing discourse. Reversal can be simply explained as accepting an argument and making it head in a different direction.

*Nietzsche’s Acceptance of Modernity

Nietzsche begins an attempt to justify modernity. If we deal with decline in a Nietzschean sense, acknowledging this process fundamentally goes against everything Nietzsche seeks. However, Nietzsche willingly accepts that ‘whatever source of power exists within Europe’s declining life, it can never be used in the category of progress. Broadly speaking, humanity has reached a vast amount of humanism. The fact that this is not generally perceived itself is evidence of it. We have become so sensitive to minor difficulties that we unjustly overlook what has been achieved. Today’s society is widely considerate and tolerant of others’ rights and even others’ demands. Respect for humanity itself, not just virtuous individuals, is what most strongly separates us from Christian value judgments.