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Coming from a small colony in Syracuse, Gorgias of Leontini, a Greek Sophist philosopher, lived from approximately 485 to 375 B.C.E. Contrary to common belief, scholars assert that he lived to be over 100 years old. Many even designate Gorgias as the “Father of Sophistry.”
Gorgias arrived in Athens during the last quarter of the fifth century B.C.E. as a political envoy from Syracuse. Similar to Protagoras, he also took on students to instruct them in the art of rhetoric for political and legal purposes. Protagoras and Gorgias are often regarded as the first Sophist philosophers.
According to historical sources, Gorgias studied under Empedocles. He authored four works: “On Non-Existence,” “The Defense of Palamedes,” “The Encomium on Helen,” and “The Epitaphios.” However, only two works, “Encomium on Helen” and “Defense of Palamedes,” have survived in their entirety, while “On Non-Existence” exists only in fragments or summaries.
Gorgias stood out significantly in his renowned milieu due to his advocacy of a metaphysical and epistemological system of radical skepticism. In fact, many contemporary scholars classify his philosophy as nihilistic.
Through his Sophistic rhetoric, Gorgias argued that nothing truly exists. I will summarize his argument, as presented in his work “On Non-Existence,” in … ...Read the rest.
“The Skeptic Sophist: Gorgias of Leontini”
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