Protagoras (approximately 490 or 480 BC - 420 or 410 BC) was born in the ancient Greek colony of Abdera. His father was appreciated by King Xerxes of Persia. Only then did he get the chance to get an education. He traveled around the country, gave lectures, and recruited disciples to teach rhetoric and argumentation knowledge. He was sought after by others. He came to Athens, the center of the Greek slave-owning democracy at that time, many times. He was appreciated by the politician Pericles and hired as the teacher of his second son Garcia. , who formulated the code for the Athenian colony of Turi in southern Italy. It is said that in his later years, he was accused of supporting oligarchy and disrespecting gods. His book "On Gods" was burned and he was expelled from Athens. He died on the way across the sea to Sicily. Most of his thoughts can be seen in Plato's dialogues "Theaetetus" and "Protagoras". Protagoras was the main representative of the Sophists.

1. Man is the measure of all things

Protagoras believed that the existent is the measure of existence, and the non-existent is the measure of non-existence. The benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise see wisdom.

1. People obtain knowledge through their own feelings. It is believed that the existence of things is relative to people's feelings. Things are how people feel. The existence, nature and form of all things are relative and completely determined by human subjective feelings. From this, it is concluded that "knowledge is feeling", and it is advocated that knowledge can be obtained with the help of feelings. Based on this view, he cast doubt on traditional religious theology.

2. Emotional desires and the pursuit of self-interest are the standards of morality. He believes that morality also varies from person to person, and morality is not mysterious. The political system, legal system, morality, religion, etc. are not fixed. Citizens can change traditions and make new agreements according to their own needs and will. He opposed Socrates' innate morality theory, advocated that "virtue can be taught", and tried to prove that virtue cannot be born by nature or spontaneously. It is a character that can be taught and needs to be acquired through painstaking cultivation.

3. Everyone is equal. Because human nature is the same, everyone should be equal in terms of education, property, race, etc., even between masters and slaves. Protagoras's ethical thought strongly supported the democratic politics of Athens at that time, had certain progressive significance, and had an important influence on the development of Western ethical thought. The relativism, individualism, and liberal elements contained in it were also inherited and developed by later thinkers.

2. Anecdotes and Quotes

“As for God, I neither know that they exist nor that they do not exist. There are many things that hinder our understanding, such as the obscurity of the problem , life is short, etc. "

"Man is the measure of all things. Everything exists when it exists, and everything does not exist when it does not exist."

It is said that Protagoras taught a young man. , the contract stipulates that if you win the first lawsuit after completing your studies, you will pay the remaining half of the tuition, otherwise you will not pay. But the young man insisted not to pay, so Protagoras went to court to sue him and asked him to pay the tuition. As a result, according to the arguments of both parties, the judge could not decide who should win the case.

References:

Wang Tao, Objective Understanding of Protagoras, History Study, 2010.11