SOPHIST

casuist, sophist

(noun) someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious

Sophist

(noun) any of a group of Greek philosophers and teachers in the 5th century BC who speculated on a wide range of subjects

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

sophist (plural sophists)

One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.

(loosely) A teacher who used plausible but fallacious reasoning.

(loosely, by extension) One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.

Synonym: logic chopper

(dated) Alternative form of sophister (“university student who has completed at least one year”)

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, sophistḗs / sophistes tended to denote exclusively a skilled public speaker and/or teacher of rhetoric.

Source: Wiktionary

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Soph"ist, n. Etym: [F. sophiste, L. sophistes, fr. Gr. Sophism.]

1. One of a class of men who taught eloquence, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece; especially, one of those who, by their fallacious but plausible reasoning, puzzled inquirers after truth, weakened the faith of the people, and drew upon themselves general hatred and contempt. Many of the Sophists doubdtless card not for truth or morality, and merely professed to teach how to make the worse appear the better reason; but there scems no reason to hold that they were a special class, teaching special opinions; even Socrates and Plato were sometimes styled Sophists. Liddell & Scott.

2. Hence, an impostor in argument; a captious or fallacious reasoner.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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