Doxa and Epistêmê as Modes of Acquaintance in Republic V

The interpretation of Plato’s distinction between epistêmê and doxa is notoriously difficult. One of the reasons for this is that Plato has different uses for these two terms and often uses them in ways that are far removed from the meaning we moderns tend to connect with the concepts of knowledge and belief. The usual contemporary distinction between knowledge and (mere) true belief relates to the quality of the justification or evidence the true belief in question is based upon. This kind ..