In a time of multiple crises the sophistry of our leaders is more than dangerous. The narratives their words weave might advance their personal agendas but will leave the world ill-equipped to handle pandemics, wars, social upheaval, and climate disruption.
Sophistry much concerned Plato. In Gorgias he has Socrates compare sophistry to “cosmetics” or “self-adornment”. Condemnation of sophistry is also a common theme throughout Plato’s Phaedrus, Sophist, and Protagoras. Plato associates sophistry with appearance and therefore as being distanced from reality.