{{cquote|The sophists were itinerant professional teachers and intellectuals who frequented [[Athens]] and other [[Greece|Greek]] cities in the second half of the fifth century B.C.E....
{{cquote|The sophists were itinerant professional teachers and intellectuals who frequented [[Athens]] and other [[Greece|Greek]] cities in the second half of the fifth century B.C.E....
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The historical and philological difficulties confronting an interpretation of the sophists are significant. Only a handful of sophistic texts have survived and most of what we know of the sophists is drawn from second-hand testimony, fragments and the generally hostile depiction of them in Plato’s dialogues...
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The historical and philological difficulties confronting an interpretation of the sophists are significant. Only a handful of sophistic texts have survived and most of what we know of the sophists is drawn from second-hand testimony, fragments and the generally hostile depiction of them in [[Plato]]’s dialogues...
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Due in large part to the influence of [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]], the term sophistry has come to signify the deliberate use of fallacious reasoning, intellectual charlatanism and moral unscrupulousness.<ref>[http://www.iep.utm.edu/sophists/ The Sophists (Ancient Greek)]</ref>}}
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Due in large part to the influence of Plato and [[Aristotle]], the term sophistry has come to signify the deliberate use of fallacious reasoning, intellectual charlatanism and moral unscrupulousness.<ref>[http://www.iep.utm.edu/sophists/ The Sophists (Ancient Greek)]</ref>}}