Plato's Meno dialogue

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…the first step to achieving the truth. This of course is better than notachieving that step at all. Socrates is ultimately concerned in finding the whole truth and would have defiantly preferred knowing some of the truth rather than being ignorant to it. Even though Socrates knew that the journey to reach the truth may be painful, ignorance would be far worse than a painful truth. Ultimately he knew that the way must be tried!