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Full Idea
True opinion is as good a guide as knowledge for the purpose of acting rightly.
Clarification
'Knowledge' here is the Greek word 'epistemé'
Gist of Idea
As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge
Source
Plato (Meno [c.385 BCE], 97b)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Protagoras and Meno', ed/tr. Guthrie,W K C [Penguin 1956], p.153
A Reaction
This is the germ of Peirce's epistemology - that knowledge is an interesting theoretical concept, but opinion/belief is what matters, and most needs explanation.
| 1913 | Is virtue taught, or achieved by practice, or a natural aptitude, or what? [Plato] |
| 1916 | Even if virtues are many and various, they must have something in common to make them virtues [Plato] |
| 1918 | How can you know part of virtue without knowing the whole? [Plato] |
| 11259 | How can you seek knowledge of something if you don't know it? [Plato] |
| 1919 | You don't need to learn what you know, and how do you seek for what you don't know? [Plato] |
| 5985 | Seeking and learning are just recollection [Plato] |
| 5986 | The slave boy learns geometry from questioning, not teaching, so it is recollection [Plato] |
| 1921 | If virtue is a type of knowledge then it ought to be taught [Plato] |
| 1922 | Spiritual qualities only become advantageous with the growth of wisdom [Plato] |
| 1923 | As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge [Plato] |
| 20219 | True opinions only become really valuable when they are tied down by reasons [Plato] |
| 1927 | It seems that virtue is neither natural nor taught, but is a divine gift [Plato] |