In order to truly understand knowledge and all that it involves it is important to understand how it works against opinion. Knowledge involves truth. Even if we become convinced that something we claim to know is false, we retract the claim and we can use the new information as new learned knowledge. Believing or having opinions differ with knowledge entirely. It is quite possible to believe something false. Believing does not necessarily involve truth. One factor that can interfere with an obvious distinction between knowledge and opinion is the art of persuasion. Take anyone that has ever tried to sell you something for example. They may tell you it is the best product in the world, but they may not actually believe it themselves. Salesman use their charm to reel you in just for their own benefit. A quote by Socrates that really seemed to illustrate my point appropriately is as followed, “A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” Ultimately a good decision is one that is backed up with reasons, rather than one that just appears to be true because of false evidence. Without prior knowledge, opinion or belief is at the mercy of every persuasive speaker that comes along. Not everyone clearly understands the points Plato is trying to make regarding knowledge and opinion because it is almost impossible to make an argument only consisting of strictly knowledge and no bias
In order to truly understand knowledge and all that it involves it is important to understand how it works against opinion. Knowledge involves truth. Even if we become convinced that something we claim to know is false, we retract the claim and we can use the new information as new learned knowledge. Believing or having opinions differ with knowledge entirely. It is quite possible to believe something false. Believing does not necessarily involve truth. One factor that can interfere with an obvious distinction between knowledge and opinion is the art of persuasion. Take anyone that has ever tried to sell you something for example. They may tell you it is the best product in the world, but they may not actually believe it themselves. Salesman use their charm to reel you in just for their own benefit. A quote by Socrates that really seemed to illustrate my point appropriately is as followed, “A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” Ultimately a good decision is one that is backed up with reasons, rather than one that just appears to be true because of false evidence. Without prior knowledge, opinion or belief is at the mercy of every persuasive speaker that comes along. Not everyone clearly understands the points Plato is trying to make regarding knowledge and opinion because it is almost impossible to make an argument only consisting of strictly knowledge and no bias