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Full Idea
The fool and the infant and the madman at times say something true, but they do not possess knowledge of the true.
Gist of Idea
Fools, infants and madmen may speak truly, but do not know
Source
Sextus Empiricus (Against the Logicians (two books) [c.180], I.042)
Book Ref
Sextus Empiricus: 'Against the Logicians', ed/tr. Bury,R.G. [Harvard Loeb 1997], p.21
A Reaction
This may be correct of someone who is insane, but seems unfair to the fool and the infant. At what age do children begin to know things? If speech was just random nonsense, an accidental truth seems impossible.
1923 | As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge [Plato] |
2140 | True belief without knowledge is like blind people on the right road [Plato] |
174 | True opinion without reason is midway between wisdom and ignorance [Plato] |
2089 | An inadequate rational account would still not justify knowledge [Plato] |
8331 | To know something we need understanding, which is grasp of the primary cause [Aristotle] |
22759 | Fools, infants and madmen may speak truly, but do not know [Sext.Empiricus] |
19517 | Believing without a reason may just be love of your own fantasies [Locke] |
12898 | Justification is neither sufficient nor necessary for knowledge [Lewis] |
8811 | What we want to know is - when is it all right to believe something? [Pollock] |
19734 | If value is practical, knowledge is no better than true opinion [Greco] |
6800 | Many philosophers rate justification as a more important concept than knowledge [Bird] |
19539 | If knowledge is unanalysable, that makes justification more important [Dougherty/Rysiew] |