--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Between knowledge of what really exists…" description: "\"Between knowledge of what really exists and ignorance of what does not exist lies the domain of opinion. It is more obscure than knowledge, but clearer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/plato-103_doe_between-knowledge-of-what-really-exists_2828679.jpg" --- # Between knowledge of what really exists and ignorance of… ![“Between knowledge of what really exists and ignorance of what does not exist lies the domain of opinion. It is more obscure than knowledge, but clearer than ignorance.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/plato-103_doe_between-knowledge-of-what-really-exists_2828679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/plato-103_doe_between-knowledge-of-what-really-exists_2828679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/plato-103_doe_between-knowledge-of-what-really-exists_2828679.jpg) > “Between knowledge of what really exists and ignorance of what does not exist lies the domain of opinion. It is more obscure than knowledge, but clearer than ignorance.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Opinion occupies a middle ground between knowledge and ignorance, being less precise than truth yet more defined than uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Opinion is between knowing and not knowing. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of opinion and seek evidence. Themes epistemology critical thinking uncertainty Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - debates - decision making - education - media consumption Key Concepts philosophy logic belief systems Questions to Reflect On - When did you mistake opinion for knowledge? - How can you test the validity of a belief? A Different Perspective Opinions can be persuasive even when unsupported by facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clearer Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clearer-ignorance-3642501/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Exists Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-ignorance-3642500/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-does-1005315/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscure/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinion Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-obscure-3642502/) ## Related quotes > [“The reason God exists is because ignorance is bliss, and God is true bliss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/the-reason-god-exists-is-because-ignorance-is-bliss-and-god-is-true/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [When ignorance does not know something, it says that what it does not know is stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/when-ignorance-does-not-know-something-it-says-that-what-it-does-not/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If religion comes into the public square, it is as vulnerable as any other human institution to be pelted with produce. Ignorance does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/if-religion-comes-into-the-public-square-it-is-as-vulnerable-as-any/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [“Race and religion do not separate people; ignorance does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/race-and-religion-do-not-separate-people-ignorance-does/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Beware of ignorance when in motion; look out for inexperience when in action, and beware of the majority when mentally poisoned with misinformation, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/beware-of-ignorance-when-in-motion-look-out-for-inexperience-when-in/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [Stupidity has a certain charm - ignorance does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/stupidity-has-a-certain-charm-ignorance-does-not/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“Ignorance does not make the wrong choice into the right one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrie-haskell/ignorance-does-not-make-the-wrong-choice-into-the-right-one/) [Merrie Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrie-haskell/) > [The question is asked in ignorance, by one who does not even know what can have led him to ask it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-question-is-asked-in-ignorance-by-one-who-does-not-even-know-what/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [It's not ignorance does so much damage; it's knowin' so derned much that ain't so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/it-s-not-ignorance-does-so-much-damage-it-s-knowin-so-derned-much/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Blinding ignorance does mislead us. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral & written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation & would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/) [Jerome Rothenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-rothenberg/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Limit use of shareware and public domain software to systems without fixed disks. If you do use them on fixed disks, allocate separate subdirectories...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/limit-use-of-shareware-and-public-domain-software-to-systems-without/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. 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The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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