Meditations on First Philosophy Quotes

“It is only prudent never to place complete confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Dubium sapientiae initium. (Doubt is the origin of wisdom.)”
― Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“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, Meditations on First Philosophy

“But I cannot forget that, at other times I have been deceived in sleep by similar illusions; and, attentively considering those cases, I perceive so clearly that there exist no certain marks by which the state of waking can ever be distinguished from sleep, that I feel greatly astonished; and in amazement I almost persuade myself that I am now dreaming.”
― Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“But what then am I? A thing that thinks. What is that? A thing that doubts, understand, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and that also imagines and senses.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Whatever I have up till now accepted as most true and assured I have gotten either from the senses or through the senses. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once.”
― Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“أرى أن جميع من أنعم الله عليم بنعمة العقل يجب أن يستعملوه قبل كل شيء في محاولة معرفة الله ومعرفة أنفسهم، وهذا هو الأمر الذي اتفقت عليه جمهرة الناظرين، والذي وفقني الله إلى أن أبلغ فيه ما يرضيني تمام الرضا.”
― رينيه ديكارت, Meditations on First Philosophy

“When I turn my mind's eye upon myself, I understand that I am a thing which is incomplete and dependent on another and which aspires without limit to ever greater and better things...”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“The destruction of the foundations necessarily brings down the whole edifice.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Suppose [a person] had a basket full of apples and, being worried that some of the apples were rotten, wanted to take out the rotten ones to prevent the rot spreading. How would he proceed? Would he not begin by tipping the whole lot out of the basket? And would not the next step be to cast his eye over each apple in turn, and pick up and put back in the basket only those he saw to be sound, leaving the others? In just the same way, those who have never philosophized correctly have various opinions in their minds which they have begun to store up since childhood, and which they therefore have reason to believe may in many cases be false. They then attempt to separate the false beliefs from the others, so as to prevent their contaminating the rest and making the whole lot uncertain. Now the best way they can accomplish this is to reject all their beliefs together in one go, as if they were all uncertain and false. They can then go over each belief in turn and re-adopt only those which they recognize to be true and indubitable.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“For the very fact that my knowledge is increasing little by little is the most certain argument for its imperfection.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on the First Philosophy

“Whence then come my errors? They come from the sole fact that since the will is much wider in its range and compass than the understanding, I do not restrain it within the same bounds, but extend it also to things which I do not understand: and as the will is of itself indifferent to these, it easily falls into error and sin, and chooses the evil for the good, or the false for the true.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. [But how mistakenly!] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call the human body; I am not a subtle penetrating air distributed throughout all these members; I am not a wind, a fire, a vapor, a breath or anything at all that I can image. I am supposing all these things to be nothing. Yet I find, while so doing, that I am still assured that I am a something.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“I fear being shaken out of them because I am afraid that my peaceful sleep may be followed by hard labour when I wake, and that I shall have to struggle not in the light but in the imprisoning darkness of the problems I have raised.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“ينبغي لمن يحاول الارتفاع الي معرفه تجاوز مرتبة العامه ان لايلتمس في صيغ الكلام التي ابتدعتها تلك العامه الا مواطن الشك”
― رينيه ديكارت, Meditations on First Philosophy

“I am not a collection of members which we call the human body: I am not a subtle air distributed through these members, I am not a wind, a fire, a vapour, a breath, nor anything at all which I can imagine or conceive; because I have assumed that all these were nothing. Without changing that supposition I find that I only leave myself certain of the fact that I am somewhat.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Mind and soul of the man is entirely different from the body.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“All that I have, up to this moment, accepted as possessed of the highest truth and certainty, I received either from or through the senses. I observed, however, that these sometimes misled us; and it is the part of prudence not to place absolute confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Thus the perception of the infinite is somehow prior in me to the perception of the finite, that is, my perception of God is prior to my perception of myself. For how would I understand that I doubt and that I desire, that is, that I lack something and that I am not wholly perfect, unless there were some idea in me of a more perfect being, by comparison with which I might recognize my defects?”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Nature teaches me that so many other bodies exist around mine of which some are to be avoided, some sought after.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Man, being finite in nature can only have knowledge perfectness of which is limited.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“We must in the end acknowledge the infirmity of our nature”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Je puis me persuader d'avoir été fait tel par la nature que je puisse aisément me tromper même dans les choses que je crois comprendre avec le plus d'évidence et de certitude.”
― René Descartes, Méditations Métaphysiques

“Is there anything more intimate or more internal than pain?”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“But doubtless I did exist, if I persuaded myself of something. But there is some deceiver or other who is supremely powerful and supremely sly and who is always deliberately deceiving me. Then too there is no doubt that I exist, if he is deceiving me. And let him do his best at deception, he will never bring it about that I am nothing so long as I shall think that I am something. Thus, after everything has been most carefully weighed, it must finally be established that this pronouncement “I am, I exist” is necessarily true every time I utter it or conceive it in my mind.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“¿hay acaso algo más íntimo o más interior que el dolor?”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“Porque por naturaleza, considerada en general, no entiendo otra cosa sino Dios mismo, o bien el orden y la disposición que Dios ha establecido en las cosas creadas. Y por mi naturaleza en particular, no entiendo otra cosa sino la complexión o reunión de todo aquello que Dios me ha dado.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“i manifestly understand that there is more reality in infinite than in finite substance, and that therefore the perception of the infinite in me must be in some way prior to that of the finite: the perception of god, in other words, prior to that of myself. for how could i possibly understand that i doubt, and that i desire, that is, that there is something lacking in me, and that i am not completely perfect, if there were no idea in me of a more perfect being, by comparison with which i could recognize my own shortcomings?”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“I shall then suppose, not that God who is supremely good and the fountain of truth, but some evil genius not less powerful than deceitful, has employed his whole energies in deceiving me; I shall consider that the heavens, the earth, colours, figures, sound, and all other external things are nought but the illusions and dreams of which this genius has availed himself in order to lay traps for my credulity; I shall consider myself as having no hands, no eyes, no flesh, no blood, nor any senses, yet falsely believing myself to possess all these things; I shall remain obstinately attached to this idea, and if by this means it is not in my power to arrive at the knowledge of any truth, I may at least do what is in my power [i.e. suspend my judgment], and with firm purpose avoid giving credence to any false thing, or being imposed upon by this arch deceiver, however powerful and deceptive he may be.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

“I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that I mentally concieve it.”
― René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy