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Full Idea
True opinions are a fine thing and all they do is good, …but they escape from a man's mind, so they are not worth much until one ties them down by (giving) an account of the reason why.
Gist of Idea
True opinions only become really valuable when they are tied down by reasons
Source
Plato (Meno [c.385 BCE], 98a3)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.895
A Reaction
This gives justification the role of guarantee, stabilising and securing true beliefs (rather than triggering some new thing called 'knowledge').
| 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] |