Vol.:(0123456789) Studies in Philosophy and Education https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-019-09683-y 1 3 Sophistry in Vygotsky: Contributions to the Rhetorical and Poetic Pedagogy Erika Natacha Fernandes de Andrade 1  · Marcus Vinicius da Cunha 2 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract This work relates L. S. Vygotsky’s theory to the rhetorical and poetic pedagogy, which is a set of educational ideas and practices derived from the philosophical-educational tradition initiated by the Sophists. It is verifed that the Vygotskyan concepts contribute to broaden the foundations of poetic and rhetorical pedagogy, presenting a psychology of language that integrates decorum, kairos and antilogical argumentation within aesthetic experiences; communication sustains knowledge and refection of reality, aiming at the strengthening of the individual’s identity, the education of the creative subject and the improvement of the collective. It is considered that the rhetorical and poetic character of Vygotsky’s theory encourages the contemporary school to be a space for investigation and search for crea- tive solutions, contradicting the measurementist pedagogical tendencies that dehumanize education. Keywords Vygotsky · Sophistry · Contemporary pedagogy In Search of Alternatives for Education Many pedagogical ideas that aim to bring education in line with the social, cultural and economic needs of the 21st century have been presented in recent decades. Although widely disseminated, these ideas make up a movement that is all too recent and nuanced, making the global and synthetic appreciation of its intentions and practical proposals dif- cult. Even so, it is possible to point out a common trait in most of them: their advocates are guided by what Muller (2018) calls the tyranny of metrics, as they express their theses in line with an obsessive metric fixation, and are adept at thinking and acting in various sec- tors of social life—in schools, medicine, business, administration, etc. Under the infuence of reputable academic sectors, the predominance of these ideas makes the development of * Erika Natacha Fernandes de Andrade erika.andrade@ufms.br Marcus Vinicius da Cunha mvcunha2@hotmail.com 1 Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rua Delamare, 708, Centro, Caixa Postal 04, Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul CEP 79301-970, Brazil 2 University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil