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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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Famous Rene Descartes Quotes

“Although my knowledge grows more and more, nevertheless I do not for that reason believe that it can ever be actually infinite, since it can never reach a point so high that it will be unable to attain any greater increase.”

Believe Reason Grows Greater Logic Increase Infinite Certainty Uncertainty Reasoning Nevertheless Ontology

Book:Discourse on Method and Meditations

Source: Discourse on Method and Meditations

“Intuition is the undoubting conception of a pure and attentive mind, which arises from the light of reason alone, and is more certain than deduction.”

Mind Reason Light Certain Pure Intuition Arise Conception Deductions

Author:Rene Descartes

“Reason is nothing without imagination.”

Reason Imagination

Author:Rene Descartes

“Because reason...is the only thing that makes us men, and distinguishes us from the beasts, I would prefer to believe that it exists, in its entirety, in each of us.”

Men Believe Reason Beast Entirety

Author:Rene Descartes

“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

“So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope for success, but merely being willing to risk the experiment of finding whether the truth they seek lies there.”

Mind Reason Lying Risk Willing Findings Blind Curiosity Experiments Mortals No Reason Possessed Routes Unexplored

Book:RULES FOR THE DIRECTION OF THE MIND DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE MEDITATIONS AND REPLIES THE GEOMETRY

Source: RULES FOR THE DIRECTION OF THE MIND DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE MEDITATIONS AND REPLIES THE GEOMETRY

“... regard this body as a machine which, having been made by the hand of God, is incomparably better ordered than any machine that can be devised by man, and contains in itself movements more wonderful than those in any machine. ... it is for all practical purposes impossible for a machine to have enough organs to make it act in all the contingencies of life in the way in which our reason makes us act.”

Men Way Made Reason Enough Body Hands Purpose Wonderful Impossible Movement Machines Regard Practicals Organs Hands Of God Contingency

Author:Rene Descartes

“Hence reason also demands that, since our thoughts cannot all be true because we are not wholly perfect, what truth they do possess must inevitably be found in the thoughts we have when awake, rather than in our dreams.”

Reason Dream Body Found Perfect Demand Being True Awake Our Thoughts Our Dreams

Author:Rene Descartes

“It is to the body alone that we should attribute everything that can be observed in us to oppose our reason.”

Should Reason Body Attributes

Author:Rene Descartes