Abstract
The aim of this paper is to emphasize the role that the sophists play in the instruction of philosophy at gymnázium, a Czech institution of secondary education. The sophists are often understood as a mere stepping stone in the history of philosophy and are overshadowed by the philosophy of Socrates and Plato. This is sometimes still the case even though many scholars today appreciate the important contribution of the sophists to the Western philosophical tradition. This paper therefore argues that the sophists should be viewed as a necessary part of the instruction of philosophy at gymnázium.
The first part serves as a general introduction to a usual interpretation of the sophists and their part in the history of Western philosophy. Subsequently, a question of the goals of teaching philosophy at this type of educational establishment is discussed and then applied to the ideas of the sophists. This link is then demonstrated on the Encomium of Helen by Gorgias.