René Descartes Quotes

«Y no me precio tampoco de ser el primer inventor de mis opiniones, sino solamente de no haberlas admitido ni porque las dijeran otros ni porque no las dijeran, sino sólo porque la razón me convenció de su verdad.»

"In everyday life we must often act without delay, it is a most certain truth that when it is not in our power to discern the truest opinions, we must follow the most probable." (Discourse III, AT VI: 25/CSM I: 123)

[Descartes discusses a traveler lost in a forest to illustrate this. The traveler is lost, and he does not know how to get out of the woods. Descartes’ advice is that the traveler should pick a route, even if it is uncertain, and resolutely stick to it:

"Keep walking as straight as he can in one direction, never changing it for slight reasons even if mere chance made him choose it in the first place; for in this way, even if he does not go exactly where he wishes, he will at least end up in a place where he is likely to be better off than in the middle of a forest." (Ibid.)]

Ayrıca, şeylerin gerçekliği hakkındaki yargılarımıza herhangi bir varsayım karıştırmaktan kesinlikle sakınmalıyız. Bu uyarı çok önemlidir. Günümüz felsefesinde herhangi bir tartışmaya konu olamayacak kadar açık ve kesin hiçbir şey bulamayışımızın belki de en güçlü nedeni, açık ve kesin olan şeyleri kabul etmekten tatmin olmayan bilginlerin ancak tahminler ve olasılıklar yardımıyla ulaşabilecekleri anlaşılmaz ve bilinmeyen şeyleri savunmaya cüret etmeleridir. Ardından bunlara kademe kademe kendi inançlarını ekleyerek, fark gözetmeksizin bunlara gerçek ve aşikâr şeyleri de katarak neticede şüpheli bir kaynağın bazı önermelerine dayanan ve dolayısıyla da belirsiz bir sonuca ulaşırlar.

Je sais combien nous sommes sujets à nous méprendre en ce qui nous touche, et combien aussi les jugements de nos amis nous doivent être suspects, lorsqu’ils sont en notre faveur.

Method consists entirely in properly ordering and arranging the things to which we should pay attention.

Το σώμα και η ψυχή, παρότι διακριτά και ασύμβατα από μεταφυσική άποψη, αλληλεπιδρούν.

Cogito, ergo sum.

I couldn’t exist with the nature that I have – that is, containing within me the idea of God – if God didn’t really exist. By ‘God’ I mean the very being the idea of whom is within me – the one that has no defects and has all those perfections that I can’t grasp but can somehow touch with my thought. This shows clearly that it is not possible for him to be a deceiver, since the natural light makes it clear that all fraud and deception depend on some defect.

ART. 17. The functions of the soul Having thus considered all the functions that pertain to the body alone, it is easy to recognize that there remains nothing in us that we should ascribe to the soul except our thoughts, of which there are two main kinds: the actions of the soul and its passions. By its actions I mean all our volitions, since we experience these as coming directly from our soul, and as apparently depending on it alone. Whereas, on the other hand, the term ‘passions’ can be applied in general to all the kinds of perception or knowledge to be found within us, because it is often not our soul that makes them what they are, and because they are always produced in us by the things they represent.

Για την ακρίβεια, με βασάνιζαν τόσες αμφίβολιες και σφάλματα ώστε νόμιζα πως, στην προσπάθεια μου να μορφωθώ, δεν είχα αποκομίσει κανένα όφελος πέρα απ' ότι διαπίστωνα όλο και πιο περισσότερο την άγνοια μου.

Tüm yöntem aklın birtakım gerçeklere varmak için çabasını yönlendirmek zorunda olduğu konuların sırasına ve konumuna dayanır. Bunu sürdürebilmek için güçlük içeren ve muğlak önermeleri aşamalı olarak daha basite indirgemek, sonra da bunların sezgisinden hareket ederek aynı şekilde diğer önermelerin bilgisine varmak gerekir.

Pues tales frutos he recogido ya de ese método, que, aun cuando, en el juicio que sobre mí mismo hago, procuro siempre inclinarme del lado de la desconfianza mejor que del de la presunción, y aunque, al mirar con ánimo filosófico las distintas acciones y empresas de los hombres, no hallo casi ninguna que no me parezca vana e inútil

I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that I mentally concieve it.

Και εκείνοι που σκαρφίζονται τις πιο ευχάριστες ιστορίες και μπορούν να τις αφηγηθούν πολύ γλυκά και περίτεχνα, θα είναι πάντα οι καλύτεροι ποιητές, έστω και αν η ποιητική τένη τους είναι άγνωστη.

I did not imitate the skeptics who doubt only for doubting’s sake, and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole intention was to arrive at a certainty, and to dig away the drift and the sand until I reached the rock or the clay beneath.