Plato Sophists claimed that human "excellence"was not an accident of fate or a prerogative of noble birth,but an art or "techne"that could be taught and learned. PlatoPlato claims that since Sophists appeal only to what seems likely or probable,rather than to what is true,they are not at all making their students and audiences "better,but simply flattering them with what they want to hear.Plato Sophists claimed that human "excellence" was not an accident of fate or a prerogative of noble birth, but an art or "techne" that could be taught and learned. Plato Plato claims that since Sophists appeal only to what seems likely or probable, rather than to what is true, they are not at all making their students and audiences "better," but simply flattering them with what they want to hear