What is Politics: Plato’s Sophists
リアクション
2026年08月25日
In this installment of the What Is Politics? series on VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn undertakes a comprehensive analysis of Plato’s late dialogue, The Sophist (Sophistes). Framed as a direct sequel to the Theaetetus and an indispensable bridge to The Statesman (Politicus), the dialogue shifts away from early Socratic aporia toward the systematic, didactic method of collection and division (diaeresis) led by the Eleatic Stranger.
Varn unpacks how Plato tackles the ancient Eleatic dilemma inherited from Parmenides—the paradox that non-being cannot be thought or spoken, which sophists exploited to argue that deception and false belief are logically impossible. Through the famous "Battle of the Gods and Giants" (gigantomachia peri tes ousias), the five greatest kinds (megista gene), and the breakthrough redefinition of non-being as "otherness" or difference (heteron), Plato establishes the metaphysical and grammatical foundations necessary to distinguish authentic philosophy from demagogic, image-making sophistry.
Featured Topics & Takeaways:
The Dramatic Setting & Method: Transitioning from the Theaetetus to the Sophist via the Eleatic Stranger and the method of division (diaeresis).
The Eleatic Dilemma: How Parmenidean monism made falsehood, deception, and mimicry philosophically difficult to articulate.
The Battle of Gods & Giants: Reconciling extreme materialist flux with the static, incorporeal world of the Forms.
The 5 Greatest Kinds (Megista Gene): How Being, Motion, Rest, Sameness, and Difference interweave to make predication and language possible.
Defining the Sophist: Distinguishing likeness-making (eikastike) from phantasm-making (phantastike) and the political stakes of epistemic relativism.
Works Cited:
Ackrill, J. L. (1957). Plato and the copula: Sophist 251–259. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 77(1), 1–6.
Cornford, F. M. (1935). Plato’s theory of knowledge: The Theaetetus and the Sophist of Plato translated with a running commentary. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Notomi, N. (1999). The unity of Plato’s Sophist: Between the Sophist and the Philosopher. Cambridge University Press.
Pelletier, F. J. (1990). Parmenides, Plato, and the semantics of not-being. University of Chicago Press.
Plato. (1921). Theaetetus. Sophist (H. N. Fowler, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library 123. Harvard University Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (1993). Plato’s Sophist (S. Benardete, Trans. & Comm.). University of Chicago Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (1997). Sophist (N. P. White, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper & D. S. Hutchinson (Eds.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 235–293). Hackett Publishing. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (2008). Theaitetos and Sophist (C. Rowe, Trans. & Ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Sayre, K. M. (2006). Metaphysics and method in Plato’s Statesman and Sophist. Cambridge University Press.
Links & Support
Patreon: Support VarnVlog on Patreon to access exclusive classes, reading lists, and behind-the-scenes content: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Order: Order my new mini-book with Daniel Tutt, "The People Are Not One," available now via Revol Press: https://www.revolpress.com/people-not-one
Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here.
Host: C. Derick Varn ( X: @therealvarnvlog Bluesky @varnvlog.bsky.social)
Intro Musics: Spaceship Revolution by Etienne Roussel (Solo Intro), Bitterlake (Political Intro), Bitterlake (Strange Intro), The Siege of Kalameth by Jon Björk (Main Show Intro),
Outro Music: Let Down by Issue AB
Intro and Outro Video Design: C. Derick Varn (Main Show Intro, Show Outro), Djene Bajalan (Solo Intro, Political Intro, Space Outro), Bitterlake (Strange Intro)
Art Design: Corn (https://www.patreon.com/cornflow) and C. Derick
Episode Time Key (Timestamps)
00:00:32 – Introduction: Why The Sophist Is Essential to Plato’s Political Works
00:01:15 – Dramatic Context: 399 BCE, The Sequel to Theaetetus, & The Eleatic Stranger
00:03:00 – From Socratic Aporia to Didactic Diaeresis (The Method of Division)
00:04:35 – Historical Context: Sophism, Rhetoric, and Epistemic Relativism in 4th-Century Athens
00:06:25 – The Eleatic Dilemma: Parmenides and the Impossibility of Falsehood
00:08:45 – Committing Philosophical "Parricide" Against Father Parmenides
00:09:30 – Diaeresis in Practice: The Angler Paradigm
00:11:00 – The First Six Definitions: Hunters of the Rich, Soul Wholesalers, & The "Noble Sophist"
00:16:30 – The 7th Definition: The Sophist as an Image Maker (Eidōlopoiikē)
00:17:20 – Likenesses (Eikastike) vs. Phantasms (Phantastike)
00:18:55 – Gigantomachia: The Battle of the Gods (Forms) and Giants (Materialists)
00:20:25 – Defining Being as Capacity and Power (Dynamis)
00:22:05 – The 5 Greatest Kinds: Being, Motion, Rest, Sameness, & Difference
00:25:00 – Non-Being as Otherness (Heteron): How True and False Statements Function (Logos)
00:28:00 – Final Definition of the Sophist & Previewing The Statesman
Varn unpacks how Plato tackles the ancient Eleatic dilemma inherited from Parmenides—the paradox that non-being cannot be thought or spoken, which sophists exploited to argue that deception and false belief are logically impossible. Through the famous "Battle of the Gods and Giants" (gigantomachia peri tes ousias), the five greatest kinds (megista gene), and the breakthrough redefinition of non-being as "otherness" or difference (heteron), Plato establishes the metaphysical and grammatical foundations necessary to distinguish authentic philosophy from demagogic, image-making sophistry.
Featured Topics & Takeaways:
The Dramatic Setting & Method: Transitioning from the Theaetetus to the Sophist via the Eleatic Stranger and the method of division (diaeresis).
The Eleatic Dilemma: How Parmenidean monism made falsehood, deception, and mimicry philosophically difficult to articulate.
The Battle of Gods & Giants: Reconciling extreme materialist flux with the static, incorporeal world of the Forms.
The 5 Greatest Kinds (Megista Gene): How Being, Motion, Rest, Sameness, and Difference interweave to make predication and language possible.
Defining the Sophist: Distinguishing likeness-making (eikastike) from phantasm-making (phantastike) and the political stakes of epistemic relativism.
Works Cited:
Ackrill, J. L. (1957). Plato and the copula: Sophist 251–259. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 77(1), 1–6.
Cornford, F. M. (1935). Plato’s theory of knowledge: The Theaetetus and the Sophist of Plato translated with a running commentary. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Notomi, N. (1999). The unity of Plato’s Sophist: Between the Sophist and the Philosopher. Cambridge University Press.
Pelletier, F. J. (1990). Parmenides, Plato, and the semantics of not-being. University of Chicago Press.
Plato. (1921). Theaetetus. Sophist (H. N. Fowler, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library 123. Harvard University Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (1993). Plato’s Sophist (S. Benardete, Trans. & Comm.). University of Chicago Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (1997). Sophist (N. P. White, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper & D. S. Hutchinson (Eds.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 235–293). Hackett Publishing. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Plato. (2008). Theaitetos and Sophist (C. Rowe, Trans. & Ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work written ca. 360 BCE)
Sayre, K. M. (2006). Metaphysics and method in Plato’s Statesman and Sophist. Cambridge University Press.
Links & Support
Patreon: Support VarnVlog on Patreon to access exclusive classes, reading lists, and behind-the-scenes content: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Order: Order my new mini-book with Daniel Tutt, "The People Are Not One," available now via Revol Press: https://www.revolpress.com/people-not-one
Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here.
Host: C. Derick Varn ( X: @therealvarnvlog Bluesky @varnvlog.bsky.social)
Intro Musics: Spaceship Revolution by Etienne Roussel (Solo Intro), Bitterlake (Political Intro), Bitterlake (Strange Intro), The Siege of Kalameth by Jon Björk (Main Show Intro),
Outro Music: Let Down by Issue AB
Intro and Outro Video Design: C. Derick Varn (Main Show Intro, Show Outro), Djene Bajalan (Solo Intro, Political Intro, Space Outro), Bitterlake (Strange Intro)
Art Design: Corn (https://www.patreon.com/cornflow) and C. Derick
Episode Time Key (Timestamps)
00:00:32 – Introduction: Why The Sophist Is Essential to Plato’s Political Works
00:01:15 – Dramatic Context: 399 BCE, The Sequel to Theaetetus, & The Eleatic Stranger
00:03:00 – From Socratic Aporia to Didactic Diaeresis (The Method of Division)
00:04:35 – Historical Context: Sophism, Rhetoric, and Epistemic Relativism in 4th-Century Athens
00:06:25 – The Eleatic Dilemma: Parmenides and the Impossibility of Falsehood
00:08:45 – Committing Philosophical "Parricide" Against Father Parmenides
00:09:30 – Diaeresis in Practice: The Angler Paradigm
00:11:00 – The First Six Definitions: Hunters of the Rich, Soul Wholesalers, & The "Noble Sophist"
00:16:30 – The 7th Definition: The Sophist as an Image Maker (Eidōlopoiikē)
00:17:20 – Likenesses (Eikastike) vs. Phantasms (Phantastike)
00:18:55 – Gigantomachia: The Battle of the Gods (Forms) and Giants (Materialists)
00:20:25 – Defining Being as Capacity and Power (Dynamis)
00:22:05 – The 5 Greatest Kinds: Being, Motion, Rest, Sameness, & Difference
00:25:00 – Non-Being as Otherness (Heteron): How True and False Statements Function (Logos)
00:28:00 – Final Definition of the Sophist & Previewing The Statesman
