And even though we have read all the arguments of Plato and Aristotle, we shall never become philosophers if we are unable to make a sound judgement … - René Descartes

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Engraved portrait of René Descartes, facing right

And even though we have read all the arguments of Plato and Aristotle, we shall never become philosophers if we are unable to make a sound judgement on matters which come up for discussion; in this case what we would seem to have learnt would not be science but history.

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About René Descartes

René Descartes (March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650) was a highly influential French philosopher, mathematician, physicist and writer. He is known for his influential arguments for substance dualism, where mind and body are considered to have distinct essences, one being characterized by thought, the other by spatial extension. He has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy" and the "Father of Modern Mathematics." He is also known as Cartesius.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, After Frans Hals (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Descartes Cartesius Renatus Cartesius Renė Dekartas

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Additional quotes by René Descartes

regarding speculative matters that are of no practical moment, and followed by no consequences to himself, farther, perhaps, than that they foster his vanity the better the more remote they are from common sense; requiring, as they must in this case, the exercise of greater ingenuity and art to render them probable.

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