Full Idea
The simple truth is that anyone who knows a thing's name also knows the thing.
Gist of Idea
Anyone who knows a thing's name also knows the thing
Source
Plato (Cratylus [c.375 BCE], 435d)
Book Reference
Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.151
A Reaction
A nice slogan, but it seems to be blatantly false. The best example is Gareth Evans's of joining in a conversation about a person ('Louis'?), and only gradually tuning in to the person to which the name refers.
Related Idea
Idea 13791 Things must be known before they are named, so it can't be the names that give us knowledge [Plato]