Meno's Definition Of Priori Knowledge

A priori knowledge is universally and necessarily true, it cannot be false. Socrates discusses his definition of priori knowledge and the distinction between knowledge and true belief with Meno. In doing so, Socrates uses the symbol of a leader guiding a group, instructing them on which direction to go. Socrates enters the dialogue by squashing the idea that Meno and he had previously conjured. Socrates believes a leader cannot guide accurately if he does not have the knowledge of which direction to go. Meno becomes easily perplexed by this statement. In attempt to clarify Socrates reiterates his point by explaining that a leader who knows which way to go will lead others in the right direction. In addition, a leader with the correct opinion regarding which direction to go will

A leader who possesses knowledge can lead to understanding and guiding down the right path, just as much as a leader who possesses correct opinion. Meno agrees with Socrates, but then challenges and points out a slight inconsistency with Socrates’ definition. Meno believes that a leader who has knowledge will always have correct directions when guiding others, while a leader who has true opinion possesses the possibility of having incorrect directions when guiding others. Meno continues with his thoughts and ideas by questioning if Socrates’ definition of knowledge is even valid. Meno poses the questions, “why is knowledge looked upon as more valuable when compared to true opinion and why are knowledge and true opinion different?” To answer these questions, Socrates brings forth a symbol of his explanation. He uses the metaphor of beautiful statues. Socrates begins very ambiguously by saying that statues will run away if someone does not tie them down. Socrates directly relates the statues to opinions people possess. He says to have an untied statue is not worth much because it does not