The majority of men is composed of two classes, for neither of which would this be at all a befitting resolution: in the first place, of those who wi… - René Descartes

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The majority of men is composed of two classes, for neither of which would this be at all a befitting resolution: in the first place, of those who with more than a due confidence in their own powers, are precipitate in their judgments and want the patience requisite for orderly and circumspect thinking; whence it happens, that if men of this class once take the liberty to doubt of their accustomed opinions, and quit the beaten highway, they will never be able to thread the byway that would lead them by a shorter course, and will lose themselves and continue to wander for life; in the second place, of those who, possessed of sufficient sense or modesty to determine that there are others who excel them in the power of discriminating between truth and error, and by whom they may be instructed, ought rather to content themselves with the opinions of such than trust for more correct to their own reason.

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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.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: Descartes Cartesius Renatus Cartesius Renė Dekartas
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Additional quotes by René Descartes

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.

ينبغي لي إذا أردت الإهتداء الى امر ثابت أكيد في العلوم، ان امتنع عن تصديق ما يمكن الشك فيه، امتناعي عن تصديق ما يتضح فيه الخطأ اتضاحًا شديدًا.

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