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Rene Descartes

Rene Descartes Quotes

Philosopher

Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and logician, is one of the most important thinkers in the history of Western philosophy. His philosophical ideas have had a profound impact on subsequent generations, particularly for his famous proposition 'Cogito, ergo sum'. Born on March 31, 1596, Descartes died on February 11, 1650.

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All Mind Thinking Ifs Math Certain Wells Body Mathematical Mathematics Has Beens Men Science World Doubt Knows Reason Dream Logic Aries Believe

Famous Rene Descartes Quotes

“Archimedes, that he might transport the entire globe ... demanded only a point that was firm and immovable; so also, I shall be entitled to entertain the highest expectations, if I am fortunate enough to discover only one thing that is certain and indubitable.”

Ifs Enough Might Certain One Thing Highest Expectations Firm Fortunate Globes Entitled Transport

Book:Discourse On Method, Meditations And Principles: Descartes : Discourse On Method

Source: Discourse On Method, Meditations And Principles: Descartes : Discourse On Method

“Even if I were to suppose that I was dreaming and whatever I saw or imagined was false, yet I could not deny that ideas were truly in my mind.”

Ifs Mind Ideas Dream Saws Deny

Author:Rene Descartes

“If I simply refrain from making a judgment in cases where I do not perceive the truth with sufficient clarity and distinctness, then it is clear that I am behaving correctly and avoiding error.”

Ifs Cases Clear Judgment Errors Clarity Perceive Sufficient Avoiding Refrain

Author:Rene Descartes

“If I go for the alternative which is false, then obviously I shall be in error; if I take the other side, then it is by... chance that I arrive at the truth, and I shall still be at fault.... In this incorrect use of free will may be found the privation which constitutes the essence of error.”

Ifs May Stills Use Found Sides Chance Essence Errors Faults Alternatives Free Will

Author:Rene Descartes

“I experienced in myself a certain capacity for judging which I have doubtless received from God, like all the other things that I possess; and as He could not desire to deceive me, it is clear that He has not given me a faculty that will lead me to err if I use it aright.”

Ifs Use Desire Certain Given Clear Judging Capacity Faculty Deceiving Leading Me

Book:Discourse on Method and Meditations

Source: Discourse on Method and Meditations

“Some years ago I was struck by the large number of falsehoods that I had accepted as true in my childhood, and by the highly doubtful nature of the whole edifice that I had subsequently based on them. I realized that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last.”

Ifs Years Whole Wanted Lasts Courses Numbers Childhood Years Ago Foundation Accepted I Realized Stable Falsehood Large Numbers Doubtful Edifice Demolish

Author:Rene Descartes

“Even the mind depends so much on temperament and the disposition of one's bodily organs that, if it is possible to find a way to make people generally more wise and more skilful than they have been in the past, I believe that we should look for it in medicine. It is true that medicine as it is currently practiced contains little of much use.”

People Ifs Way Should Mind Believe Looks Littles Has Beens Use Past Science I Believe Wise Depends Medicine Organs Disposition Temperament

Author:Rene Descartes

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”

“If we possessed a thorough knowledge of all the parts of the seed of any animal (e.g. man), we could from that alone, be reasons entirely mathematical and certain, deduce the whole conformation and figure of each of its members, and, conversely if we knew several peculiarities of this conformation, we would from those deduce the nature of its seed.”

Ifs Men Reason Whole Certain Nature Animal Figures Members Mathematics Math Seeds Mathematical Possessed Thorough Thorough Knowledge

Author:Rene Descartes

“If I found any new truths in the sciences, I can say that they follow from, or depend on, five or six principal problems which I succeeded in solving and which I regard as so many battles where the fortunes of war were on my side.”

Ifs I Can War Problem Found Sides Five Depends Battle Six Regard Mathematics Fortune Math Mathematical Principal Mathematical Problems

Author:Rene Descartes

“I should consider that I know nothing about physics if I were able to explain only how things might be, and were unable to demonstrate that they could not be otherwise.”

Ifs Knows Should Might Able Science Physics

Author:Rene Descartes

“If ... it is not in my power to arrive at the knowledge of any truth, I may at least do what is in my power, namely, suspend judgement.”

Ifs May Judgment Judgement

Author:Rene Descartes

“I am thinking, therefore I exist. (...) I was a substance whose whole essence or nature is solely to think, and which does not require any place, or depend on any material thing, in order to exist. Accordingly this 'I' - that is, the soul by which I am what I am - is entirely distinct from the body, and indeed is easier to know than the body, and would not fail to be whatever it is, even if the body did not exist.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Doe Soul Whole Body Order Failing Materials Depends Easier Essence Substance Material Things I Am What I Am

Author:Rene Descartes

“Even those who have the weakest souls could acquire absolute mastery over all their passions if we employed sufficient ingenuity in training and guiding them.”

Ifs Soul Body Passion Training Absolutes Sufficient Acquire Mastery Employed Ingenuity

Author:Rene Descartes