Q0322
“Every human soul has by nature beheld the things that are.” — Plato (Phaedrus 249d)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Phaedrus 249d. Theme: truth.
English
Every human soul has by nature beheld the things that are.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Phaedrus 249d and files it under Platonism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Plato
Plato (c. 428/427–348/347 BCE) was an Athenian of high birth, a devoted associate of Socrates, and the founder of the Academy.
Interpretation
In the Phaedrus this belongs to the myth of the soul's pre-existence and the account of recollection. Plato's claim is that learning is not acquisition but recovery: the soul has, in some sense, seen the forms, and what we call coming to know is being reminded of them. The point is to explain how inquiry is possible at all — if we did not already have some grasp of what we are looking for, we could not recognise it on finding it.
Why it matters
Behind the myth is a genuine puzzle: how do you search for something you cannot yet identify? Plato's answer is that recognition is doing work memory usually gets credit for.
Concepts in this quote
- Truth
- Truth is among philosophy’s oldest problems: what it is for a claim to be true, and how truth relates to belief, language, and power.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Plato. (n.d.). Every human soul has by nature beheld the things that are. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0322
MLA: Plato. “Every human soul has by nature beheld the….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0322.
Chicago: Plato. “Every human soul has by nature beheld the….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0322.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Every human soul has by nature beheld the…”?
The passage is attributed to Plato, Phaedrus 249d. The archive attributes this English wording to Phaedrus 249d and files it under Platonism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Plato mean by truth?
Correspondence, coherence, pragmatist, and deflationary theories compete. Ethics and politics ask who gets to define truth in public life. This passage enters that discussion through truth.