Protagoras on democracy and the rule of law

Abstract

The sophist Protagoras is famous for being the first consistent relativist who argued that there is no objective truth and every perception is valid for those who experience it. He extended this relativism to morality and politics and maintained that the law is “the opinion of the city”, thus disjoining justice from any metaphysical foundation. However, if we read Protagoras’ “Great Speech” in Plato’s Protagoras we find that his argument to the effect that all men possess the two political virtues leads to the conclusion that democracy is the best form of government. The paper argues that Protagoras was not inconsistent. His relativism is confined to his theory of knowledge. In practical matters, human beings devise their values and political institutions through a dialogic process. This is the all-important role of logos in the public sphere according to Protagoras: through their interactions, human beings exchange information which enables them to shape the most just institutions and make the best decisions. Democracy is thus the best form of government because it best allows citizens to have a public discourse on an equal footing. This is the value of isegoria and parrhêsia which, together with isonomia, are the foundation of democracy. Protagoras’ position, thus interpreted, can serve as a “liberal” foundation of democracy. Indeed, his view about democracy and knowledge is very similar to the theoretical foundation of liberalism in contemporary authors such as Friedrich von Hayek and Michael Oakeshott.