Philosophy Quote by René Descartes — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“And thus, the actions of life often not allowing any delay, it is a truth very certain that, when it is not in our power to determine the most true opinions we ought to follow the most probable.”

“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”

“Dubium sapientiae initium (Doubt is the origin of wisdom).”

“Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.”

“I suppose therefore that all things I see are illusions; I believe that nothing has ever existed of everything my lying memory tells me. I think I have no senses. I believe that body, shape, extension, motion, location are functions. What is there then that can be taken as true? Perhaps only this one thing, that nothing at all is certain.”

“The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.”

“You would not search the woodside gay”

“The view that the truth is one and undivided, and the same for all men everywhere at all times, whether one finds it in the pronouncements of sacred books, traditional wisdom, the authority of churches, democratic majorities, observation and experiment conducted by qualified experts, or the convictions of simple folks uncorrupted by civilisation---this view, in one form or another, is central to western thought, which stems from Plato and his disciples.”

“Imagination is cheap as long as you don't have to worry about the details.”

“We don't really want to get what we think that we want.”

“Rousseau identified reason as the disease for which it pretended to be the cure.”

“Your principle should be to see everything and say nothing. The world changes so rapidly that if you want to get on you cannot afford to align yourself with any person or point of view.”