"Man is the measure"
Things are to you as they appear to you, to me as they appear to me — there is no standard of truth above the individual. The saying became the eternal charter of relativism.
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Protagoras
Leading Sophist: "man is the measure"
Those Who Ground an Idea Into a Whole System · Disciples & School-Builders
RelativismSophistryRhetoric
Who they are
Protagoras (c. 490–420 BC), the most famous Sophist, declared that "man is the measure of all things," making truth relative to the individual and turning philosophy from nature toward human affairs. A paid teacher and master of argument, he was the herald of relativism and a chief foil in Socrates’ dialogues.
Primary sourcesPlato, Protagoras and Theaetetus
Key stories
Version differences
His works are almost entirely lost; his thought is known mainly through Plato’s (largely critical) reports.
Relationships
Nemesis
Echoes today
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
Relativism"Man is the measure" is still the first quotation in any debate on the relativity of truth.