Sophist vs Specious - What's the difference?
sophist | specious |
One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.
A teacher who used plausible but fallacious reasoning.
One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.
Seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.
*1776 , Thomas Paine,
*:I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking, the specious errors of those who speak without reflecting.
Having an attractive appearance intended to generate a favorable response; deceptively attractive.
(obsolete) Beautiful, pleasing to look at.
As a noun sophist
is one of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient greece.As an adjective specious is
seemingly well-reasoned, plausible or true, but actually fallacious.sophist
English
(wikipedia sophist)Noun
(en noun)Usage notes
* The meaning of "sophist" can vary depending on the time period to which one is referring. A sophist of the earliest period was a master in his art or craft who demonstrated (taught by example) his practical skill/learning in exchange for pay. Later sophists were providers of a well-rounded education intended to give pupils arete'' – "virtue, human excellence". By late antiquity, ''sophist?s'' / ''sophistes'' tended to denote exclusively a skilled public speaker and/or teacher of rhetoric.''Dictionary of Philosophy'', (ed.), Philosophical Library, 1962. ''See:'' "Sophists" by Max Fishler, p. 295."History of the name ‘Sophist’," ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' at ''www.britannica.com .
Synonyms
* logic chopperReferences
specious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- This idea that we must see through what we have started is specious , however good it may sound.