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Rene Descartes Quotes

French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1650), Birth: 31-3-1596, Death: 11-2-1650 Rene Descartes Quotes
1.
We do not describe the world we see,
we see the world we can describe.
Rene Descartes

'The way we perceive our environment is determined by how we articulate it.'
2.
Whenever anyone has offended me,
I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.
Rene Descartes

Whenever someone has provoked me, I strive to elevate my spirit so high that the affront cannot reach it.
3.
It is not enough to have a good mind.
The main thing is to use it well.
Rene Descartes

It is insufficient to possess a sharp intellect. The essential part is to apply it judiciously.
4.
If you would be a real seeker after truth,
it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt,
as far as possible,
all things.
Rene Descartes

Investigate with a skeptical eye all that you encounter at least once in your life, as much as you are able.
5.
By 'God',
I understand,
a substance which is infinite,
independent,
supremely intelligent,
supremely powerful,
and which created both myself and everything else [...] that exists.
All these attributes are such that,
the more carefully I concentrate on them,
the less possible it seems that they could have originated from me alone.
So,
from what has been said it must be concluded that God necessarily exists.
Rene Descartes

Similar Authors: Ralph Waldo Emerson Swami Vivekananda Bertrand Russell Ayn Rand Michel de Montaigne Jim Rohn John Milton Blaise Pascal William James Napoleon Hill Terence McKenna Voltaire Aldous Huxley Francis Bacon Jiddu Krishnamurti
6.
De omnibus dubitandum
Rene Descartes

'Everything must be questioned.'
7.
Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.
Rene Descartes

Break down each obstacle into as many manageable components as is feasible and necessary to overcome it.
8.
Conquer yourself rather than the world.
Rene Descartes

Subdue yourself instead of the universe.
Quote Topics by Rene Descartes: Thinking Mind Math Science Dream Men Believe World Desire Philosophical Errors Body Passion Doubt Discovery Common Sense Inspirational Life May Aries Book Light Ontology Might Knowledge Soul Hands Philosophy Ideas Humorous
9.
The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.
Rene Descartes

Perusing all classic texts is akin to dialoguing with the most brilliant intellects of antiquity.
10.
The chief cause of human errors is to be found in the prejudices picked up in childhood.
Rene Descartes

The primary source of human blunders is rooted in the preconceptions instilled from a young age.
11.
Doubt is the origin of wisdom
Rene Descartes

Questioning is the source of insight
12.
Some years ago I was struck by the large number of falsehoods that I had accepted as true in my childhood,
and by the highly doubtful nature of the whole edifice that I had subsequently based on them.
I realized that it was necessary,
once in the course of my life,
to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last.
Rene Descartes

13.
An optimist may see a light where there is none,
but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?
Rene Descartes

An optimist may spot a glimmer in the dark, but why must the pessimist always race to extinguish it?
14.
The only thing we have power over in the universe is our own thoughts.
Rene Descartes

We are solely in control of our own minds.
15.
How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?
Rene Descartes

Are you confident that your entire existence is not a fanciful illusion?
16.
Omnia apud me mathematica fiunt.
Rene Descartes

'Everything I do is based on mathematics.'
17.
The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.
Rene Descartes

The wisest intellects are equally apt to commit the most heinous wrongdoings as they are proficient in exhibiting the highest morals.
18.
I have concluded the evident existence of God,
and that my existence depends entirely on God in all the moments of my life,
that I do not think that the human spirit may know anything with greater evidence and certitude.
Rene Descartes

19.
You just keep pushing.
You just keep pushing.
I made every mistake that could be made.
But I just kept pushing.
Rene Descartes

Continue striving. You make missteps, yet you remain determined.
20.
The only thing that I know,
is that I know nothing
Rene Descartes

I am in the dark regarding all things.
21.
I know that I exist;
the question is,
What is this 'I' that 'I' know.
Rene Descartes

I understand my own being; the inquiry lies in discerning this 'self' that I perceive.
22.
Except our own thoughts,
there is nothing absolutely in our power.
Rene Descartes

23.
It is possible that I am dreaming right now and that all of my perceptions are false.
Rene Descartes

24.
Mathematics is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other that has been bequeathed to us by human agency.
Rene Descartes

25.
Situations in life often permit no delay;
and when we cannot determine the course which is certainly best,
we must follow the one which is probably the best.
This frame of mind freed me also from the repentance and remorse commonly felt by those vacillating individuals who are always seeking as worthwhile things which they later judge to be bad.
Rene Descartes

26.
Before examining this more carefully and investigating its consequences,
I want to dwell for a moment in the contemplation of God,
to ponder His attributes in me,
to see,
admire,
and adore the beauty of His boundless light,
insofar as my clouded insight allows.
Believing that the supreme happiness of the other life consists wholly of the contemplation of divine greatness,
I now find that through less perfect contemplation of the same sort I can gain the greatest joy available in this life.
Rene Descartes

27.
Each problem that I solved became a rule,
which served afterwards to solve other problems.
Rene Descartes

28.
I think;
therefore I am.
Rene Descartes

29.
For I found myself embarrassed with so many doubts and errors that it seemed to me that the effort to instruct myself had no effect other than th eincreasing discovery of my own ignorance
Rene Descartes

30.
In philosophy,
when we make use of false principles,
we depart the farther from the knowledge of truth and wisdom exactly in proportion to the care with which we cultivate them,
and apply ourselves to the deduction of diverse consequences from them,
thinking that we are philosophizing well,
while we are only departing the farther from the truth;
from which it must be inferred that they who have learned the least of all that has been hitherto distinguished by the name of philosophy are the most fitted for the apprehension of truth.
Rene Descartes

31.
The only secure knowledge is that I exist.
Rene Descartes

32.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
Rene Descartes

33.
A state is better governed which has few laws,
and those laws strictly observed.
Rene Descartes

34.
Truths are more likely to be discovered by one man than by a nation
Rene Descartes

35.
I was convinced that our beliefs are based much more on custom and example than on any certain knowledge.
Rene Descartes

36.
He who hid well,
lived well.
Rene Descartes

37.
Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare.
Rene Descartes

38.
Reason is nothing without imagination.
Rene Descartes

39.
God alone is the author of all the motions in the world.
Rene Descartes

40.
Wonder is the first of all the passions.
Rene Descartes

41.
But possibly I am something more than I suppose myself to be.
Rene Descartes

42.
It is best not to go on for great quest for truth ,
it will only make you miserable
Rene Descartes

43.
Illusory joy is often worth more than genuine sorrow.
Rene Descartes

44.
...it is certain that I am really distinct from my body,
and can exist without it.
Rene Descartes

45.
All is to be doubted.
Rene Descartes

46.
When I consider this carefully,
I find not a single property which with certainty separates the waking state from the dream.
How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?
Rene Descartes

47.
The senses deceive from time to time,
and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once.
Rene Descartes

48.
To live without philosophizing is in truth the same as keeping the eyes closed without attempting to open them.
Rene Descartes

49.
My third maxim was to try always to conquer myself rather than fortune,
and to change my desires rather than the order of the world,
and generally to accustom myself to believing that there is nothing entirely in our power except our thoughts,
so that after we have done our best regarding things external to us,
everything in which we do not succeed is for us absolutely impossible.
Rene Descartes

50.
I desire to live in peace and to continue the life I have begun under the motto 'to live well you must live unseen
Rene Descartes