Sophism and Feminism

If Sophism is representative of winning an argument and relative truth, and feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights based on equality of sexes, what do they have in common?

In Rereading the Sophists, Jarratt emphasizes common aspects of sophism and feminism. Feminism is a useful scope to take when viewing the sophists' rhetorical theory. Both feminists today and the sophists were excluded in the same way; the sophists for not taking a more “truthful” stance rhetorically, and females for gender roles. Both faced and still face an ongoing intellectual battle in attempt to make their beliefs accepted and known.

Jarrett also emphasizes that both the sophists and females are thought to place more emphasis on the body rather than the soul (another critic by Plato). Much like women today and throughout history are criticized and viewed only by their physical appearance, the sophists also were criticized for their seemingly “surface level” view of rhetoric. Jarrett states: “The devaluation of both the sophists and women operates as their reduction to a ‘style’ devoid of substance. Both rhetoric arid women are trivialized by identification with sensuality, costume, and color—all of which are supposed to be manipulated in attempts to persuade through deception.” (p. 65)

Jarratt points out that both the sophists then and feminists today are forced to take a position, and stand for something in their society. For the sophists, this was rhetoric via persuasion and relative truth. For women today, this is the stance to advocate for women’s equality despite the cultural normality.

In a piece titled “Situated Knowledge” by Haraway, one can draw parallels on feminism and sophsists as well. Haraway argues for embodied objectivity in her piece, stating that all knowledge is subjective, even seemingly objective truths such as science and math. She parallels this with a relative feminism. By crossing seemingly objective truths and the subjectivism of feminism, she in turn emphasizes Kairos.

Kairos is the art of seizing the opportune moment to win an argument. In her argument for embodied objectivity, she emphasizes situational importance in any argument for feminism. In the same way, the Sophists insinuated that Kairos, seizing the opportune moment, was one of the fundamental aspects in winning an argument.

Sources

Haraway, Donna. "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective." Feminist Studies 14.3 (1988): 575-99. Web.

Jarratt, Susan Carole Funderburgh. Rereading the Sophists : Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Southern Illinois University Press, 1998. EBSCOhost.