OPINION (

See also:

• LAT

Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)  , a term used loosely in ordinary speech for an idea or an explanation of facts which is regarded as being based on evidence which is good but not conclusive . In logic it is used as a translation of Gr . 6b a, which plays a prominent part in Greek philosophy as the opposite of knowledge (iirurr lµrt or aXi7Beta) . The distinction is drawn by Parmenides, who contrasts the sphere of truth or knowledge with that of opinion, which deals with mere appearance, error, not-being . So Plato places Sofia between alvtrl61s and &Avoca, as dealing with phenomena contrasted with non-being and being respectively . Thus Plato confines opinion to that which is subject to change . Aristotle, retaining the same idea, assigns to opinion (especially in the Ethics) the sphere of things contingent, i.e. the future: hence opinion deals with that which is probable . More generally he uses xx• 5popular opinion—that which is generally held to be true (6oKeiv) —as the starting-point of an inquiry . In modern philosophy the term has been used for various conceptions all having much the same connotation . The absence of any universally acknowledged definition, especially such as would contrast " opinion " with " belief," " faith " and the like, deprives it of any status as a philosophic term .