What is Superior, “True Opinion” (Gut Feeling) or Knowledge?

Foundation of Philosophy
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Foundation of Philosophy
Section 1
2. What is superior, “true opinion” (gut feeling) or knowledge?
The theory of knowledge, put forward by philosopher Plato, eventually came to be a contest between the love for knowledge and true opinion. According to Plato, knowledge supersedes opinion because a true opinion can only be based on assumption and not substantiated by facts or rational explanations like knowledge (Pritchard et al., 2018). The argument behind the superiority of knowledge over true opinion is that a true opinion cannot be justified and is subject to change upon the presentation of a varied opinion. Plato, in his theory of form, likens the distinction between knowledge and opinion to that of reality and appearance (Macintosh, 2012). Knowledge represents the reality that never changes, whereas true opinion represents that which appears to be true and is often subject to change. Therefore, knowledge is superior.
6. What types of life are there, according to Aristotle, and what are their respectivefunctions?
Many different views have been presented on the concept of life, and Aristotle is one of the ancient philosophers to share his views about life. Aristotle's understanding of life presents three forms of life: a life devoted to gratification, the life of political action, and philosophical or a life of study and knowledge (Kraut, 2018). In the first type of life according to Aristotle, happiness, amusement, and pleasure, especially physical pleasure, is the essence of life. Aristotle however argued that pleasure and amusement play a minor role in life, as there are more important things to life than pleasure (Kraut, 2018). Philosophical life, that is, the life devoted to study and knowledge, is Aristotle's best form of life. A happy life is achieved in this form through the understanding of basic principles that defines life in the universe. Political life, on the other hand, is a life where there is a balance between thoughtful observation and ethical virtues and is a great source of qualities such as justice.