Quote:
Originally Posted by Ansley
I don't know if I was allowed to have one of those. What is it?
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Taking a year off after high school to travel the world or a certain country to lean of life and experince the world prior to entering a sophisticate society. ( College)
A Sophist- I think there us a lady on here titled or tag lined "The Sophisticated Siren"
Sophists of Ancient Greece
The Greek word sophos or
sophia has had the meaning "wise" or "wisdom" since the time of the poet
Homer and originally was used to describe anyone with expertise in a specific domain of knowledge or craft. For example, a charioteer, a sculptor or a warrior could be described as sophoi in their occupations. Gradually, however, the word also came to denote general wisdom and especially wisdom about human affairs (in, for example, politics, ethics, or household management). This was the meaning ascribed to the Greek
Seven Sages of 7th and 6th Century BC (like
Solon and
Thales), and it was the meaning that appeared in the histories of Herodotus. Richard Martin refers to the seven sages as "performers of political poetry."
[1]
In the second half of the 5th century BC, particularly at
Athens, "sophist" came to denote a class of mostly itinerant intellectuals who taught courses in various subjects, speculated about the nature of language and culture and employed
rhetoric to achieve their purposes, generally to persuade or convince others: "Sophists did, however, have one important thing in common: whatever else they did or did not claim to know, they characteristically had a great understanding of what words would entertain or impress or persuade an audience."
[1] A few sophists claimed that they could find the answers to all questions. Most of these sophists are known today primarily through the writings of their opponents (specifically
Plato and
Aristotle), which makes it difficult to assemble an unbiased view of their practices and beliefs.
Many of them taught their skills for a price. Due to the importance of such skills in the litigious social life of Athens, practitioners often commanded very high fees. The sophists' practice of questioning the existence and roles of traditional deities and investigating into the nature of the heavens and the earth prompted a popular reaction against them. The attacks of some of their followers against
Socrates prompted a vigorous condemnation from his followers, including
Plato and
Xenophon, as there was a popular view of Socrates as a sophist.
[2] Their attitude, coupled with the wealth garnered by many of the sophists, eventually led to popular resentment against sophist practitioners and the ideas and writings associated with sophism.
Protagoras is generally regarded as the first of the sophists. Others include
Gorgias,
Prodicus,
Hippias,
Thrasymachus,
Lycophron,
Callicles,
Antiphon, and
Cratylus.
In comparison, Socrates accepted no fee, instead professed a self-effacing posture, which he exemplified by Socratic questioning (i.e. the
Socratic method, although
Diogenes Laertius wrote that Protagoras—a sophist—invented the “Socratic” method
[3][4]). His attitude towards the Sophists was by no means oppositional; in one dialogue Socrates even stated that the Sophists were better educators than he was,
[5] which he validated by sending one of his students to study under a sophist.
[6] W. K. C. Guthrie associated Socrates with the Sophists in his
History of Greek Philosophy.
[6]
Plato, the most famous student of Socrates, depicts Socrates as refuting some sophists in several
Dialogues. These texts depict the sophists in an unflattering light, and it is unclear how accurate or fair Plato's representation of them may be; however, Protagoras and Prodicus are portrayed in a largely positive light in
Protagoras (dialogue). Another contemporary, the comic playwright
Aristophanes, criticizes the sophists as hairsplitting wordsmiths, and makes Socrates their representative.
Plato is largely responsible for the modern view of the "sophist" as a greedy instructor who uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand and ambiguities of language in order to deceive, or to support fallacious reasoning. In this view, the sophist is not concerned with
truth and
justice, but instead seeks
power. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all challenged the philosophical foundations of sophism.
Some scholars, such as Ugo Zilioli
[7] argue that the sophists held a
relativistic view on
cognition and
knowledge. However, this may involve the Greek word "doxa," which means "culturally shared belief" rather than "individual opinion." Their philosophy contains criticism of
religion,
law, and
ethics. Though many sophists were apparently as religious as their contemporaries, some held
atheistic or
agnostic views (for example,
Protagoras and
Diagoras of Melos).
In some cases, such as
Gorgias, there are original rhetorical works that are fortunately extant, allowing the author to be judged on his own terms. In most cases, however, knowledge of sophist thought comes from fragmentary quotations that lack context. Many of these quotations come from
Aristotle, who seems to have held the sophists in slight regard.
Owing largely to the influence of Plato and Aristotle,
philosophy came to be regarded as distinct from sophistry, the latter being regarded as specious and rhetorical, a practical discipline. Thus, by the time of the
Roman Empire, a sophist was simply a teacher of rhetoric and a popular public speaker. For instance,
Libanius,
Himerius,
Aelius Aristides, and
Fronto were sophists in this sense.
[edit] Sophists and democracy
The sophists' rhetorical techniques were extremely useful for any young nobleman looking for public office. The societal roles the Sophists filled had important ramifications for the Athenian political system at large. The historical context provides evidence for their considerable influence, as Athens became more and more democratic during the period in which the Sophists were most active.
[8]
The Sophists certainly were not directly responsible for Athenian democracy, but their cultural and psychological contributions played an important role in its growth. They contributed to the new democracy in part by espousing expertise in public deliberation, since this was the foundation of decision-making, which allowed and perhaps required a tolerance of the beliefs of others. This liberal attitude would naturally have precipitated into the Athenian assembly as Sophists acquired increasingly high-powered clients.
[9] Continuous rhetorical training gave the citizens of Athens "the ability to create accounts of communal possibilities through persuasive speech".
[10] This was extremely important for the democracy, as it gave disparate and sometimes superficially unattractive views a chance to be heard in the Athenian assembly.
In addition, Sophists had great impact on the early development of
law, as the sophists were the first lawyers in the world. Their status as lawyers was a result of their extremely developed argumentation skills.
[11]
[edit] Sophists and education
The Sophists were notorious for their claims to teach virtue/excellence and for accepting fees for teaching. The influence of this stance on education in general, and medical education in particular, have been described by Seamus Mac Suibhne.
[12]
A GAP YEAR, sorry i went into french automatically and spelled it wrong.
Gap year
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gap year is an expression (also known as
sabbatical,
time off and
time out) referring to a period of time - not necessarily 12 months in which students take time off and do something other than schooling, such as travel or work. Most commonly taken after
secondary school and before starting
university, in recent years there has been an increase in 21-23 year olds taking time out after completing their degree.[
citation needed]
Contents
[edit] History
The practice of taking a deferred year developed in the
United Kingdom in the 1960s.[
citation needed] During this time, a student might travel, engage in
volunteer work overseas or undertake a
working holiday abroad.
In 1978, the
Prince of Wales and Colonel
John Blashford-Snell began what is now known as
Raleigh International by launching
Operation Drake, an expedition voyage around the world following
Sir Francis Drake's route. In the United States, the deferred year idea was promoted by Cornelius H. Bull, in 1980.
[1]
A year out has grown very popular among students in the UK,
Australia,
New Zealand and
Canada. A trend for year out is to participate in international education programs that combine
language study,
homestays,
cultural immersion,
community service, and
independent study.[
citation needed]
In 2010, year out travel increased among school, college and university leavers, as this is seen as an attractive option for future career development.
[2]
.
You can teach me style and chicness and I'll teach you... baseball. Or rugby! 
The only real girly attribute I have is long hair, no matter what sport I played I refused to cut it.
