Workshop in Ancient Philosophy (Thursday - Week 4, TT25)

Abstract: In the Sophist, the art of the sophist is described as an art of deception and the dialogue concludes by defining the sophist as a kind of imitator. This paper has two objectives. The first is to analyse the relations which hold between falsehood, images, and deception to offer an explanation for why images are presented as a requirement for deception. I argue that this is the case because images are understood as the means whereby an imitator may deceive others by causing them to judge falsely. The second objective is to present a general definition of deception in the Sophist based upon some conditions to which Plato is committed. This endeavours to explain how imitators may deceive others through the images they produce. If this definition is applied to the different kinds of imitators disclosed in the final divisions of the dialogue with their respective qualifications, then it may also show the distinctive ways by which their practitioners deceive others.