Question

sophistry noun The original Sophists were ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric and philosophy prominent in the 5th century B.C. In their heyday, these philosophers were considered adroit in their reasoning, but later philosophers (particularly Plato) described them as sham philosophers, out for money and willing to say anything to win an argument. Thus sophist (which comes from Greek sophistēs, meaning "wise man" or "expert") earned a negative connotation as "a captious or fallacious reasoner." Sophistry is reasoning that seems plausible on a superficial level but is actually unsound, or reasoning that is used to deceive. Sophistry refers to reasoning or arguments that sound correct but which are actually false.// The professor challenged the student's arguments, insisting they were based on sophistry and could be easily disproven.

Accepted Answer

August 21, 2021 SAH-fuh-stree "If you listen to the sophistry emanating from corporate leaders…, prices for goods and services are surging, and one of the causes is quite simple: Workers want more money." — Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 11 June 2021

Word	sophistry
Date	August 21, 2021
Type	noun
Syllables	SAH-fuh-stree
Etymology	The original Sophists were ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric and philosophy prominent in the 5th century B.C. In their heyday, these philosophers were considered adroit in their reasoning, but later philosophers (particularly Plato) described them as sham philosophers, out for money and willing to say anything to win an argument. Thus sophist (which comes from Greek sophistēs, meaning "wise man" or "expert") earned a negative connotation as "a captious or fallacious reasoner." Sophistry is reasoning that seems plausible on a superficial level but is actually unsound, or reasoning that is used to deceive.
Examples	"If you listen to the sophistry emanating from corporate leaders…, prices for goods and services are surging, and one of the causes is quite simple: Workers want more money." — Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, 11 June 2021
Definition	Sophistry refers to reasoning or arguments that sound correct but which are actually false. // The professor challenged the student's arguments, insisting they were based on sophistry and could be easily disproven.

Sophistry Reasoning Greek Philosophers August Noun Sah Fuh Stree Original