We challenge a line of thinking at the fore of recent work on epistemic value: the line (suggested by Kvanvig in The value of knowledge and the pursuit of understanding, 2003 and others) that if the value of knowledge is âswampedâ by the value of mere true belief, then we have good reason to doubt its theoretical importance in epistemology. We offer a value-driven argument for the theoretical importance of knowledgeâone that stands even if the value of knowledge is âswampedâ by the value of true belief. Specifically, we contend that even if knowledge itself has no special epistemic value, its relationship to other items of valueâcognitive abilitiesâgives ample reason to locate the concept at the very core of epistemolog