Protagoras

From Geography

Protagoras of Abdera (ca 490 - 420 v. Chr.) was a greek philosopher and scholar of classical antiquity. According to F.C.S. Schiller Protagoras was the founder of humanism, because he thought his pupils in a human and practical way, even though ‘real’ universities did not exist yet in that time (Cloke, Philo & Sadler, 1999). He was one of the Sophists, a group of thinkers in the age of Pericles. However, a lot of his writings and texts got lost, most probably because they were overshadowed by the works of Plato and Aristotle that came after him, although a lot of their writings on human society were based on Protagoras’ fundamental thoughts. He investigated the grounds of justice and laws, and a big part of his work dealt with the origin and functions of the social community, based on his perceptions of the greek polis (Loenen, D., 1940).

Referencees

Cloke, P., Philo, Ch. & Sadler, D. (1991) Approaching Human Geography. Chapman, London, p. 60

Loenen, D. (1940) Protagoras and the greek community. Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, Amsterdam.

Contributors

--AnneStrien 15:38, 8 September 2012 (CEST)