How Sophisticated

Sophistication, even at its best, has qualities that trouble me.

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Sophia, Sophist, Sophisticate. Related words, with strained relations. They are words often at odds with each other, but bound by lineage, nonetheless. The Greeks of the Classic Age had varying views of Sophia. For some, she was the goddess of wisdom. For others, it was just 

a word meaning wisdom. 

          The Greeks typically conflated attributes and gods. If you did something wisely, then perhaps you were guided by the goddess, or, perhaps you were intrinsically wise. They didn’t think the distinction was worth fretting about. They thought that whether the invisible hand 

of divinity was true or not, divinity is certainly the more poetic way of putting it.

          The Greeks valued beauty as well as wisdom. They thought that each reflected the other. There is an echo of this, even now, when mathematicians describe an elegantly precise equation as, “beautiful’.

          Sophists were lovers, or, friends, of wisdom. In modern terms we might describe them as professors. Much like todays professors, their love of wisdom was confined to narrow branches of wisdom; practical wisdom of the, “how to…”, variety. Those who pursued deeper wisdom were called Philosophers. A word that also combines love (philo) and wisdom (Sophos). That may seem confusing. The Greeks thought love was important enough to have separate words for its varied meanings. They had four main words for love, with four more making even finer distinctions. They liked exactness in both thought, and language.

          That said, they didn’t mind misleading opponents; so long as it was done with carefully reasoned arguments and precise wording. This became a specialty for many Sophists. It paid better than merely teaching.

          Plato despised this sort of sophism. We recall his contempt when we refer to specious contentions as sophistic, by which we mean; skillful language, elaborately designed to persuade listeners that up, is actually, down. 

          It is a technique featured in courtrooms, everywhere, all the time.

          Sophists were teachers of Rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of stringing words together in such a way as to make the best case for whatever argument you’re arguing. It is an art that can be used to conceal the truth, or to state the truth more clearly. When it is misused, as it often is, 

it tarnishes the name of a very useful art. When we detect this fault in a phony argument, we dismiss the argument as, “mere rhetoric”. On the other hand, when it is done properly, as 

in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, we don’t call it rhetoric. But it is.

          The Athens of 500 B.C. did not have the sort of courts we have today. Instead, they had cases brought before an assembly of selected citizens. The litigators were contesting individuals who spoke on their own behalf. Some were better at this than others. Those who recognized their problem with putting words to their best effect started hiring Sophists 

to speak for them at Assembly. Pretty soon, both sides were hiring Sophists. This was what appalled Plato. He saw it as a corruption of the ideals of democracy. Many agree.

          Shakespeare, in his play Henry VI, had one of his characters say, “First, let’s kill all the lawyers”. There is some debate about whether he meant all the lawyers, or only the corrupt lawyers. Some will say it’s a distinction without a difference. That’s not quite fair, but it does reflect the bi-polar nature of words evolved from Sophia.

 What does it mean to be sophisticated?

          I suppose the most common understanding is: learned, refined, intellectually complex, cool, calm, and reflective. Conversely, Satan is frequently described as a creature of taste,

complexity, and piercing intellect. Good and evil, with a shared connection of sophistication. What can we understand from this.

          Sophistication, even at its best, has qualities that trouble me.

          There is an aspect of detachment in sophistication; a reluctance to engage, a reluctance to commit, a reluctance to enter the Arena. Yes, they will engage in intellectual combat, but rarely in combat that risks life, limb, or fortune. They prefer to comment from the safety of the balcony. They are bystanders to life; critics of theater who have never been in a play

          Sophisticates can discover complexity in the plainest of things. They tend to dismiss any straightforward answer as, “simplistic”. Even when trying to control their impulse, they seem to have a visceral aversion to uncomplicated observation. This trait often prevents clear thinking. 

          President Carter, a man of sophisticated intellect, was often accused of trying to leap chasms in two jumps. Reality always curbs theory. That said, I have no complaint against sophisticates who recognize humility as the greater part of wisdom.

          Anyone who tries to be cool, can never be cool. Anyone who tries to be sophisticated will always miss the point.

          The opposite of sophistication is simplicity. Simplicity should not be confused with stupidity. Simplicity is the blessing of looking at the world without the distorting lens 

of preconceived bias. Stupidity requires no further explication. Young children and animals 

are notoriously simple - and thereby charming.

          Jesus said,” Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such

is the Kingdom of Heaven”. (Matthew 19:14). 

          William Wordsworth in his poem, Intimations of Glory wrote: “Our birth is but a sleep 

and a forgetting” …” We come from Heaven still trailing clouds of Glory”. Children retain 

the remnant memory of their Heavenly origin until the world beats it out of them.

          Too bad.

          Lies are complicated. Truth is simple. 

By K. L. Shipley

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