Thrasymachus

Thrasymachus of Chalcedon ( ancient Greek Θρασύμαχος Thrasymachus ) was a Greek ancient philosopher, orator and teacher of rhetoric. Within the history of philosophy to count him among the Sophists. In Chalcedon ( in the area of present-day Istanbul) was born, he was in the last third of the 5th century BC in Athens.

He is known mainly because lets him show up in one of his major works, the dialogue Politeia the philosopher Plato. There, Socrates tells in detail of a conversation he had with Thrasymachus.

Tradition

From Thrasymachus no writings have survived. In the definitive source collection of Diels and Kranz is found 14 short, written in the ancient world on the life and teachings of Thrasymachus and 8 citations found in other writings of authors from Thrasymachus.

Life

The Life-history of Thrasymachus little is known. He performs in comedy on the feast brothers of Aristophanes, which was listed 427 BC. It is believed, therefore, that he must have been at that time in Athens as sophist well known. In a speech takes Thraymachos on a ruler respect, the BC was in power 413-399. Plato's Republic, occurs in Thrasymachus is 413 BC The preserved inscription of his tomb are as a profession " sophistry " to. Plato points out that he has asked for his tuition money and traveled to different cities as part of his teaching activities.

Teaching

The Lost Writings of Thrasymachus may have been political, but also just joking speeches and theoretical treatises different content. He should he have written a textbook of rhetoric, Cicero writes that he has studied natural philosophy. Hermias of Alexandria cites the view of Thrasymachus ' that the gods do not seem to care about the people because they do not care about the greatest human good, justice,.

In Plato's Republic Thrasymachus occurs at the beginning of the conversation, where a conversation between him and Socrates political-ethical issues is retold. Thrasymachus is in the representation of Plato, like all sophists, gone bad. He wants to pay for his instruction about what the righteous should be, acts unsympathetic but eloquent and Socrates seems to dislike. After Thrasymachus is " the just is nothing else than the the fittest. [Or dominator ] wholesome " accessible be all, what good is the stronger and powerful.

Aftereffect

The outlined in Plato position of Thrasymachus has been interpreted in various ways. Depending on the Thrasymachus represent an " ethical [n ] nihilism, a commitment to the natural law of the jungle, a [ s ] pure [n ] legalism, the realization of a psychological egoism or a purely descriptive sociological interest. "

Thrasymachus is often mentioned in connection with Callicles, such as Michel Foucault, who is the danger of hubris of reason in balance with the ideal of Sophrosyne ( prudence ).

Source collections

• Hermann Diels, Walther Kranz (ed.): The fragments of the Presocratics, Volume 2, Berlin 1903, pp. 276-282 (partly with German translation; numerous reprints; digitized: Volume 2 of the 4th edition, 1922)