The Ancient Greek Sophists (Greek Philosophy)

[@horsebrusher]

matt damon is everywhere these days

[@titanron30]

He does look like Matt Damon

[@autowagon]

I'm 39 and I geek out on the internet trying to learn and develop my mind. You sir, are a breath of fresh air. Most lecturers on the internet about these subjects become annoyingly wrong or obviously obfuscating (to a person not new to these subjects) within a few minutes, and thus an irritation to listen to. You're bad ass teacher. Just thought I'd say so.

[@CuriousBiscuit]

I love the fact you continue to learn... I hope to be in your position at your age; continuing with a path of constant growth.

[@annachetrari]

This semester I am taking Classics of Political Thought with a professor who taught at Harvard, so I expected a memorable learning experience. However, he is explaining the topic during the 1st hour of the 3 hour-course, and then he is showing us different videos on the same topic. I am always pissed with that because I think a teacher shows videos for 2/3 of the class when he or she doesn't have the ability to make a lecture engaging enough. During one of the classes he showed us a video made by you and that's how I found your channel and I am so happy about it. God, I WISH I WAS IN YOUR CLASS!!! You are delivering the most important concepts using simple vocabulary and accessible examples and your lecture is so structured. I also enjoy the X vs Y comparison tables. Now I am preparing for my midterm and your videos are very helpful. I want to say a big THANK YOU! It's obvious you love what you are doing and YOU ARE SO GREAT AT DOING IT! Keep posting! Greetings from Prague, Czech Republic.

[@tomrichey]

Thank you so much for the kind words! This is the second shout out I've gotten from the Czech Republic this week. I'm visiting the Netherlands this summer. Sounds like I need to visit Prague sometime with so many people watching my videos there!

[@sptzk7133]

That was beautiful, it seemed like those students were trying to leave, but i can't imagine why you had such an interesting lecture. I could definitely see you at a major University! So captivating! It could just be the material you were covering (for being so interesting) but I still appreciate you for teaching so clearly!!!

[@mrsstew5]

Watching you teach with students in the room is really helpful-nurse pass-room temp-students thinking and blurting-acknowledging awesomeness (sticker). Way to go .

[@thepetar]

Man! I have never had anyone who made me interested into philosophy! I wish I had you as my professor!

[@gustavot5824]

I think this was a fantastic lecture. I listen to it during my commute and the one thing I couldn’t get out of my head was that this professor sounded exactly like Ted Lasso. Man I had the best time getting taught philosophy by Ted lasso. 10/10!

[@taylorreyes9667]

You've really helped me study for my philosophy test! My professor goes off on tangents (off topic) and I feel like I haven't learned anything! Thank you so much for posting this.

[@shaundonovan2193]

Great Lesson. You carry very good command presence in the classroom; a sight less seen today.

[@HenriquePastana]

It´s so beautiful to see a teacher with this level of enthusiasm. 32:36

[@user-ssg212]

Amazing... a good speaker yourself, Mr. Richey! You are brilliant. Thanks a ton..!

[@tomrichey]

+Shruti Gaddamwar Thank you very much for the kind words!

[@JaydenWantz]

Thank-you for putting this up! Very educational and easy to follow.

[@jordanlindo9703]

I'm such a nerd. I wish I could be in your class.

[@nevermind577]

Pretty darn cool!!!👏👏👏 I am going now to search your channel and see what other lectures I can find 🧐

[@denysfelipe625]

Parabéns ! Sou do Brasil e gosto muito dos seus videos !! Sou estudante de filosofia e apaixonado pelo saber.

[@tomrichey]

Obrigado!

[@brunaaraujo9068]

Great video class!! Tom you are an excellent teacher. Thanks from Brazil :)

[@ditoquadros9207]

Thanks for the great content. I couldn’t stop listen to it coz You laid that out very clearly👍🏻

[@RA-hs6ry]

This was very entertaining and informative, thank you.

[@rafaelz1580]

Excelent video, really helped me understand Sophists and relativity

[@libertarianluchalibre4371]

You are awesome really learned a lot. Can't wait for the weekend to watch more of your videos.

[@brendanheaney2475]

Damn I wish you were my teacher

[@tomrichey]

Well, thanks to the wonders of KZbin, I can be your teacher now and then!

[@420StonerComedy]

I never realized how much Greek philosophy can give perspective on modern politics. Also you look like Matt Damon. Thanks for the video, Professor!

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

420StonerComedy - Philosophy and politics are Greek inventions; one could say they are both peculiarly Greek.

[@mimim5171]

i just subscribe to a you-tube channel for the first time ever. can't wait to see more of your teaching. I wish you were my teacher. shout out from Seattle

[@thischannelhasaclevername5481]

That was great! The content was interesting but more importantly the teaching was captivating!

[@tomrichey]

This Channel has a Clever Name Thanks! Your channel name sounds like something a sophist would devise. :D

[@tomek1821]

Amazing lecture ! Could you please copy here the note that is under the table on the slide with "Sophists vs Platonists" ?

[@hannaharevalo2269]

thank you for the great lesso youve discussed. ive understand all of it. because it was quarantine today and my teacher gave me a project about greek philosophy. thankyou!

[@DosAleph]

tellem democracy sux....socrates said it not me

[@shreekantsrivastava4269]

A very good lecture. I wish I was in your class.

[@huwinio5973]

Great lecture, pace was perfect

[@thegoldenjaguar]

It depends on the philosopher and his relationship with wisdom. It was certainly not unusual for certain philosophers and mystics to practice a type of marriage between themselves and wisdom. It was also the idea that wisdom was the chief feminine aspect of god and was married to him or was a twin to the logos or mind of god.

[@MrsKoldun]

Great lecture and easy to understand. Thank you!

[@thedeadmansstory3049]

Sir, I didn't even finish the video to make this comment about that you teach these guys these rather complicated things in a very simple way that I think it's smart and really making a difference for them and I hope it did for this was 2 years ago. They were lucky to be taught by you.

[@tomrichey]

These are such kind words! Thank you!

[@thedeadmansstory3049]

@@tomrichey it was a pleasure to learn from you, sir. you really widened my perspective towards life which was already widened some by the efforts I've been making through the last years. I'm looking forward to learn more from your videos in the future.

[@joshhayes6274]

Are you going to be uploading anymore greek philosophy videos? I really enjoyed these! You're awesome!

[@tomrichey]

Yes, I definitely intend to cover some more ground there at some point. I really enjoy classical history and the more my audience demands more of it, the more likely I will be to put more of my efforts there!

[@joshhayes6274]

Tom Richey That's great to hear. I'm from England and I have been watching your videos for a while now; you're french revolution series helped me so much for my history A level! And in September I'm hoping to study religion and theology at the university of Manchester and this kind of stuff is fantastic plus you make it so interesting!

[@Uenbg]

+Tom Richey do the influence of Greek philosophy on the doctrine of the Trinity and the belief of an immortal soul next time. You can title your video: The Trinity and Pagan Greek philosophy. And perhaps make a seperate video for the philosophy of an immortal soul (you can also include Egyptian and Babylonian philosophy). Here's a searchterm for youtube to get you started: Trinity Doctrine, A False Teaching Of Man, Council of Nicaea And for google: The Apologists-Christian Defenders or Would-Be Philosophers The Paradox of Tertullian

[@lmperiun]

Great stuff, does this kind of conversation happen in college?

[@tomrichey]

I've done similar things with my college classes here and there - some college classes are in a seminar format that primarily incorporate a method like this with even more discussion from students than you're seeing here.

[@acug8683]

I like that you checked on your student who doesn’t seem well .. thanks for great content

[@Thisistemmi]

thank you a lot, professor. lectures are really helpful and enjoyable.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

If this is a high school philosophy class, well done!

[@joaovicente5168]

Loved your class Tom!

[@satishkumar77]

i just went to wikipedia to see the greek type of love and found the agape love as the brotherly love and phillia as affectionate friendship and love between equals. can u clarify because u mention phillia as brotherly love.

[@tomrichey]

I'm generally a big fan of Wikipedia, but it's not the end all be all. If you read the descriptions there more thoroughly - or if you go browse some other websites - you'll see that the substance of what I'm saying is correct. Good of you as a student not to simply trust the definitions I throw out there, though. A true student always inquires and verifies!

[@satishkumar77]

yes i verified it and found the answer and later saw again ur video and found u r correct thank u

[@satishkumar77]

Tom Richey i felt guilty later about the question i asked, in a way i acted like a sophist when i realised my mistake

[@tomrichey]

No need to feel guilty! I enjoy the company of a sophist now and then! Haha

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

KUMAR Academy - Strictly speaking, ‘philia’ did not express the sentiment of “brotherly love”. This is a modern interpretation of the word influenced by the Quaker concept of love for one’s fellow man as for a brother. However, the early Quakers knew enough Greek to understand that the term originally meant friendship; after all, their autonym (the name they gave themselves) was “Friends”, or “The Society of Friends” (not to be confused with the revolutionary early 19th century Greek ‘Society of Friends’ or Philike Hetaireia/Filiki Etaireia). Think about it : if philia was used in that context it would have been redundant to name the ‘city of brotherly love’ Philadelphia (philia=love; adelphos=brother). If ‘philia’ was “brotherly love”, it would have been sufficient for William Penn to simply name his newly founded town ‘Philia’, ‘Philiopolis’, or something to that effect. Ironically, the American city was named after an Ancient Greek town in Asia Minor that got its name under entirely different circumstances...( there were a number of Hellenistic cities named Philadelphia including the aforementioned city in Turkey, famous as one of the original Seven Christian Churches addressed in the Pauline Epistles; and Amman, the capital of Jordan, whose original Greek name was Philadelphia). No; the nearest approximations in English of the sentiment expressed by the Ancient Greek ‘philia’ are perhaps, ‘virtuous friendship’, ‘moral unity’, ‘close affinity’, ‘altruistic love’, ‘cordial fidelity’, ‘loyal bond’, and the like. “Affectionate friendship”, and “love between equals”, which you cite from Wikipedia, are also quite acceptable. “True friendship” (in the most morally elevated sense) is probably the best translation. Incidentally, the Greek language has preserved the original meaning of the term: in Modern Greek philia/filia simply denotes close friendship - and, to make things more confusing still, philia/filia (phili/fili, sing; - with the accent on the last syllable instead of the penult) somewhat bizarrely, has also come to mean kiss/kisses! 💋 💋 💋 Seen another way, the “love” signified by ‘philosophia’ (“love of wisdom) -if we may be permitted an analogy comparing the prosaic to the sublime- is the kind of love in current colloquial usage which expresses the idea of favouring, or being irresistibly drawn, to something pleasant: as in, “I love ❤️ curry Madras, yellow dahl, saffron biryani,🍛and tandoori nan 🥙!”.

[@viiboom8793]

You're the man! Just subscribed, love your videos and I also philia sophia!

[@gerarrgarisson8577]

Very good παιδαγωγία. I loved your lecture. Hopefully you keep on going with these videos. Thank you very much!

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Gerðarr Garðisson - Very good use of the word paedagogy in Greek!

[@cholos17]

Great lecture man. Gracias.

[@anibaljesusdelgadillo2091]

This guy is awesome. He is a very capable professor.

[@mkaz3997]

We used to call relatives 'kin'. A blood member of your family. Does language influence thought/perspective?

[@ACHTAR281082]

Love your philosophy videos ... Thank you :)

[@wanderduck3]

Great lecture, Tom!

[@tomrichey]

+Logan Sloan Thanks! I did things a little differently with this one by recording class but it seems to have gone over well enough.

[@Spreadsheeter]

Thanks for posting. Greetings from Brazil

[@licandres01]

What do you think of Trump's rhetoric? I wonder what would be that part of the lesson would be like in 2019. Great lesson, I finally feel like I understand the meaning of the word

[@maipatana]

Hi Tom, since I am not a Western, so I wonder was this lecture in high school level or university level?

[@tomrichey]

This lecture was recorded in front of an honors-level high school audience. Many of these students will take college credit courses next year while still in high school. I have given the same lecture to university audiences and I think it's totally appropriate for a survey level university course.

[@maipatana]

Tom Richey Thank you very much for your answer. I have watched many for your videos and I must say they are very helpful to me. I study architecture and many books were written like readers suppose to know these things already, which I didn't. For example, what relativism is. Anyway, I want to say thank you and I like your style of teaching.

[@rktech3292]

I demand more classical history videos!

[@tomrichey]

Sounds like I will have to deliver!

[@PierreaSweedieCat]

Tom, your mission... should you choose to accept it....

[@matthieuramo2566]

When is the next video on this topic will come ?? Did you give up on greek philosophy ?

[@tomrichey]

+matt ramo I have not given up, but have been focusing on Modern European History for the past few years. I plan to focus on US History this year but I hope to continue to pepper my channel with classical history and philosophy now and then because the Greeks and Romans are my favorite.

[@matthieuramo2566]

+Tom Richey Thanks for your answer ! I hope you will have the time to pepper it ! Clear and structured courses on antic philosophy lack on this platform. Good luck with US history !

[@NorJWWJD]

Happy Monday! Do you teach at a catholic school? I love that you can speak on biblical arguments. Thank Gd for your gift! Very inspirational. Feel like I'm in class I love it! THANK YOU. X

[@satishkumar77]

you should be in harward or yale

[@tomrichey]

Thanks! We'll see if they ever feel the same way.

[@tartarus1478]

I'm sure if he were in haward, haward would certainly yale. hahaha. Couldn't help myself.

[@HorkPorkler]

Eli you’re great and cracked my shit up

[@marshacreary2442]

And if you have a doctorate degree in Philosophy?

[@JzCrIPtO]

Thanks for the amazing lecture :')

[@elruffian163]

great video and explanations .

[@voykoloni2392]

is this from The Talented Mr Ripley?

[@tomrichey]

+Voy Koloni More like The Talented Mr Richey!

[@joesephrustyroquesimbulan4525]

You helped me a lot for my report tonight.

[@tomrichey]

+joeseph rusty roque simbulan Glad to hear it!

[@herrklamm1454]

This guy’s actually just the janitor.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Derek Durie - 😂 Good one.☝️

[@saritasharma6756]

This vedio is very helpful for me thanks .I am from India

[@notsketchy605]

This was beyond helpful

[@arbenhajri1212]

Great teaching pose and insightfull

[@Schizorantss]

This was awesome, thank you

[@asmaamel5566]

this helped me a lot in preparing for my exam thanx a lot😊😊

[@rachaelmeyer7076]

Cheers good Sir; I wish I had made it to the higher levels of our institutionalized learning; Language being my better subjects, what better a class than Philosophy to exercise it. Beginning had me a’bore, but caught up quick. Thank you, won a subscriber, student. - K. Dao

[@tomrichey]

Thank you so much for these kind words!

[@DosAleph]

philosophy is an entry class and its easy i passed with an A and went drunk/faded 90% of the time......college is a waste my professors all had emotional biases and were low key insulting my intelligence based off the statements they made about my culture and race being less inferior than white civillization, I would agree but they all think bernie the crime bills king loves minorities

[@bethanythebeast]

Love his teaching

[@ferhaeg]

did not know accents like this actually existed

[@Sidneyelgrey]

Thanks for this video , it helps me a lot on my test :)

[@YuriPavlov]

I couldn't stop listening! So interesting!)

[@YuriPavlov]

20:26 -- that was a GIGANTIC water bottle

[@PlasmaSnake369]

Good lecture

[@rajatalaria]

sir you are so cool and te way you teach is pretty awesome

[@Tiiiaa123_]

great lecture...

[@annbyrne5632]

Thank you for this. I really disliked philosophy in college ( ironically the lecturer was a poor speaker!!)but I need to teach it to 17 year olds now and want to avoid passing on my aversion to it. You have made it easy and likeable again. Life saver. One question...how do you account for George Bush JR as President??! Thanks again. Ann

[@tomrichey]

Glad to hear it! It's an honor to be able to help a fellow teacher. As for W, definitely not in my "fave five," so to speak... but then again, the current president is not anywhere in that ballpark, either!

[@gorunsoghomonian804]

Thank you.

[@cheejudo]

What type of school is this?

[@misterpeach9710]

he does look like matt damon

[@WhiskeySour89]

Matt Damon is such a good teacher!

[@tomrichey]

LOL

[@DosAleph]

thats racist..if i called obama curious george wouldnt you be outraged????

[@Christian-mn8dh]

But 2+2 always = 4... even if everyone believes it’s 5

[@keeelane]

Sorry if this seems like nitpicking but I would rather say philosophers present their audience WITH Knowledge that they hope the audience will Understand so they will arrive at Wisdom. :)

[@jamestorres37]

Matt Damon teaching philosophy now???

[@angie4163]

THANK you

[@tyurkantyurkan9522]

It's great! Thank you!

[@abooswalehmosafeer173]

Enjoyed that

[@jeremynolan852]

This guy is the Matt Damon of philosophy. He reminds me of him.

[@timblackburn1593]

Thank you, great video

[@kittymelville]

Timely. Thanks.

[@rodrugstv22]

Wow. thanks for this video I really learned a lot

[@rasmus2420]

This class is more or less a repetition of Plato's critique of the sophists from the dialogue "Gorgias". The sophists were travelling teachers of law, math, literature etc. and therefore could not have rejected any sort of knowledge whatsoever. Professor of philosophy, Paul Woodruff, pointed out in a chapter from 1999 "Rhetoric and Relativism" that Plato and Aristoteles both misunderstand the sophists, when they accuse their rhetoric for equaling truth to probabilities (eikos) and opinion (doxa). Woodruff states that the sophists rely on opinion and what is most likely BASED on the information that is already available to us - Similar to how politics of today works. The idea of famous rhetorician Protagoras (not to be confused with Pythagoras) was that arguments both for an against should be presented in public - based on that a decision should be made through consensus. Remember that Plato was against the very idea of democracy and that he even came accept rhetoric on certain conditions. The sophist were not relativists as such. As an example, they had the idea that nature is what is regardless of what we think of it. By the way, it was Plato's own student Aristoteles who invented the three forms of appeals, pathos, logos and ethos.

[@campusevangelism1859]

I read a book but I didn't understand This helps me a lot😇

[@piecebypiece2028]

I wish my philosophy teachers starred in my favorite movies

[@piecebypiece2028]

Thanks, but you're a dog

[@kintrap5376]

Is this a high school class? College? Middle school?

[@TheSteinmetzen]

+Kintrap My guess is that it's a private or a prepartory school. The instructor is wearing what looks like a logo for a prep school on his t-shirt. The way the teach talks, it's most likely a private Christian school.

[@LlewellynvonHellen]

Absolutely! Aristophanes' Socrates was a Sophist. Ironically, the real Socrates was a Philosopher.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Llewellyn von Hellen - Well...Aristophanes was right: Socrates really was a sophist: a sophist who disliked other sophists and claimed to be something different from the rest. In truth, we don’t exactly know what Socrates’ attitude towards other sophists was, because we don’t know where Socrates ends and Plato begins. It was mainly Plato who gave the sophists a bad press.

[@sakules]

thanks matt damon

[@cgo3900]

wich grade is this?

[@cgo3900]

which*

[@bizmobi2854]

Is this high school? He's giving out stickers?

[@TheThomas1066]

What a stud teacher!

[@zakie7989]

TNX

[@SuperNitin07]

woooo.. what a lecture.. !!

[@kethozhaviliegise596]

love it!

[@shubhosengupta19]

brilliant

[@mrmojorisin4249]

That presidential analogy was good