different between sophist vs pseudointellectual

English

Etymology

From Latin sophista, also sophistes, from Ancient Greek ???????? (sophist?s, “pursuer of wisdom”), from ?????????? (sophízesthai, “become wise”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?s?f?st/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?so?f?st/

Noun

sophist (plural sophists)

1. One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.
2. (loosely) A teacher who used plausible but fallacious reasoning.
3. (loosely, by extension) One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.

   Synonym: logic chopper

4. (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, sophist?s / sophistes tended to denote exclusively a skilled public speaker and/or teacher of rhetoric.

Related terms

Translations

References

English

Etymology

pseudo- (“false, fake”) +? intellectual

Noun

pseudointellectual (plural pseudointellectuals)

1. A person who claims proficiency in scholarly or artistic activities while lacking in-depth knowledge or critical understanding.
2. A person who pretends to be of greater intelligence than he or she in fact is.

Usage notes

Usage is fraught, and pseudointellectual may be used as a general term of abuse for intellectuals one dislikes or disagrees with. Nevertheless, in more careful use a rather clear distinction is drawn: a pseudointellectual is someone dishonestly or insincerely using the language, style, or topics of an intellectual, but who lacks the goals, morals, or ability of a “genuine” intellectual. It is someone who acts pretentiously and wishes to win an argument or impress, rather than modestly trying to find the truth – a focus on surface and rhetoric over content. These often involve a superficial understanding of a subject and condescension to the audience, as well as possible self-delusion (not being consciously dishonest, but rather sincerely thinking oneself to be behaving as a genuine intellectual despite one's incompetence).

Synonyms

• pseud
• pseudo

See also

• See also Thesaurus:deceiver
• charlatan
• fraud
• sophist

Adjective

pseudointellectual (comparative more pseudointellectual, superlative most pseudointellectual)

1. Pretentiously or insincerely intellectual.

References

• Sydney J. Harris, circa 1981 November 20 (syndicated column), published as “Distinctions Between Intellectuals And Pseudo-Intellectuals” (mirror) in the Detroit Free Press, (11/20/81) and “Telling the real from the pseudo”, Sarasota Journal, Nov 23, 1981, among others