The Relationship between Knowledge, Correct Opinion and Virtue

Running Header: The Relationship between Knowledge, Correct Opinion and Virtue
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The Relationship between Knowledge, Correct Opinion and Virtue
According to McDonald (2005), Plato gives a complete depiction of Socrates’ typical rejection of knowledge in the Meno. Socrates’ claim that he does not have knowledge of a virtue comes as a shock to Socrates’ interlocutor, Meno. Although Socrates asserts that he has no knowledge, he is sure that having the correct opinion is not similar to knowledge (Plato, 2000). This assertion, to Socrates, is a rare admission. As a result, it is important to launch an investigation into the existing differences between correct opinion and knowledge.
In Meno, Socrates talks about correct opinion, which is often denoted as true opinion, and knowledge. At the outset, Socrates gives a picture of the difference between knowledge and correct opinion in his response to Meno’s Paradox. Meno had claimed that one cannot make inquiries about things one is not familiar with. The reason Meno gave for this assertion was that one has knowledge about it, hence there is no need for inquiries, or he does not recognize it and therefore cannot make inquiries. As a result, Socrates attempts to contest Meno’s affirmation by a geometrical display using Meno’s slave. It is important to note that Socrates illustrated that the slave possessed correct opinions regarding geometrical theories. That slave had, certainly, not had studies on geometry. Therefore, Socrates construed that Meno’s slave recalled correct opinions that his soul had acquired before joining Meno’s slave’s body (Desjardins, 1985). The difference between these recollections and memories is that memories look upon the activities of each day, and not the knowledge of the soul. At this juncture, Socrates gave a hint regarding the relationship between the nature of knowledge and true opinion. He stated that repetitive and diverse questioning would turn correct opinion into knowledge as regards these things, which would be as precise as any other person’s (Plato, 2000).
As noted by McDonald (2005), another point worth noting is that knowledge and true opinion are not very different when it comes to the actions they generate. Socrates illustrated this notion by visualizing a traveler travelling to Larissa (Plato, 2000).. Socrates continues to note that the usefulness of true opinion is not less than that of knowledge. This happens because true opinion does not generate different actions. However, knowledge is not similar to correct opinion. Socrates argues that the different arises from the content one has regarding truth. A person with knowledge is aware of the why at the back of the truth, whereas an individual with true opinion is only aware of the truth (Scott, 2006).
The mind preserves and secures knowledge for future use through the ability of accounting for the why behind the truth (Thomas, 1980)....