Gorgias
Sophist and master of rhetoric: in his treatise On Not-Being he turns the Eleatics' arguments around to claim that nothing exists.
Life
Gorgias of Leontini (Sicily, c. 483-375 BC) was a sophist and master of rhetoric who came to Athens in 427 BC as his city's ambassador. He taught the art of persuasion for a fee. His treatise On Not-Being, known through summaries (Sextus Empiricus, a treatise attributed to Aristotle), turns the Eleatics' reasoning around by claiming that nothing exists, that if anything did exist it could not be known, and that if it were known it could not be communicated. His Encomium of Helen reflects on the power of speech over the soul.
Main works
Three claims: nothing exists; if anything exists it cannot be known; if known it cannot be communicated (approximate date).
Speech is so powerful that it can acquit Helen: persuaded by words, she is not to blame (approximate date).
A fictional defence speech by an innocent man, a model of argument from likelihood (approximate date).
In his own words
« Speech is a powerful master and achieves the most divine feats with the smallest and least evident body. It can stop fear, relieve pain, create joy, and increase pity. »
λόγος δυνάστης μέγας ἐστίν, ὃς σμικροτάτῳ σώματι καὶ ἀφανεστάτῳ θειότατα ἔργα ἀποτελεῖ· δύναται γὰρ καὶ φόβον παῦσαι καὶ λύπην ἀφελεῖν καὶ χαρὰν ἐνεργάσασθαι καὶ ἔλεον ἐπαυξῆσαι.
« For all men do all things for two reasons, either to pursue some gain or to avoid some penalty. »
δισσῶν γὰρ τούτων ἕνεκα πάντες πάντα πράττουσιν, ἢ κέρδος τι μετιόντες ἢ ζημίαν φεύγοντες.
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceNothing exists; if something did, we could not know it; and if we knew it, we could not tell it to others.
Gorgias, On Not-Being (c. 440 BC), summarised by Sextus Empiricus, Against the Logicians