Full Idea
What everyone believes is so.
Gist of Idea
If everyone believes it, it is true
Source
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1173a01)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.314
A Reaction
Would you think me terribly unfashionable if I agreed with this? Huge numbers of people can be wrong, but if 'everyone' believes something it seems crazy to go against it.
Related Ideas
Idea 22141 It is enough if we refute the objections and leave common opinions undisturbed [Aristotle]
Idea 23633 Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid]