Home
logo
English German French
language
René Descartes

Quote of René Descartes - Good sense is, of all things...


Biography - René Descartes:

French philosopher, mathematician and scientist.
Born: 1596 - Died: 1650
Period:
17th century
Place of birth: France
France

Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess. And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken: the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing truth from error, which is properly what is called good sense or reason, is by nature equal in all men; and that the diversity of our opinions, consequently, does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of reason than others, but solely from this, that we conduct our thoughts along different ways, and do not fix our attention on the same objects. For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.


Note 

Note






Translation

Translation

(French, German)



French
Le bon sens est la chose la mieux partagée car chacun pense en être si bien pourvu, que même ceux qui sont les plus difficiles à contenter en toute autre chose, n’ont point coutume d’en désirer plus qu’ils en ont. En quoi il n’est pas vraisemblable que tous se trompent ; mais plutôt cela témoigne que la puissance de bien juger, et de distinguer le vrai d’avec le faux, qui est proprement ce qu’on nomme le bon sens ou la raison, est naturellement égale en tout homme ; et qu’ainsi la diversité de nos opinions ne vient pas de ce que les uns sont plus raisonnables que les autres, mais seulement de ce que nous conduisons nos pensées par diverses voies, et ne considérons pas les mêmes choses. Car ce n’est pas assez d’avoir l’esprit bon, mais le principal est l’appliquer bien.

German
Der gesunde Verstand ist das, was in der Welt am besten verteilt ist; denn Jedermann meint damit so gut versehen zu sein, dass selbst Personen, die in allen anderen Dingen schwer zu befriedigen sind, doch an Verstand nicht mehr, als sie haben, sich zu wünschen pflegen. Da sich schwerlich alle Welt hierin täuscht, so erhellt, dass das Vermögen, richtig zu urteilen und die Wahrheit von der Unwahrheit zu unterscheiden, worin eigentlich das besteht, was man gesunden Verstand nennt, von Natur bei allen Menschen gleich ist, und dass mithin die Verschiedenheit der Meinungen nicht davon kommt, dass der Eine mehr Verstand als der Andere hat, sondern dass wir mit unseren Gedanken verschiedene Wege verfolgen und nicht dieselben Dinge betrachten. Denn es kommt nicht bloß auf den gesunden Verstand, sondern wesentlich auch auf dessen gute Anwendung an.




See also 

See also...



To be able to discern what is true as true and what is false as false — this is the mark and character of intelligence.




Quotes for: reason


Quotes

Quotes about reason:


Have courage to use your own reason!





Truth prevails only to the extent that we successfully assert it. The victory of reason can only be the victory of rational people.





There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.





The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing.





The weakness of human reason appears more evidently in those who know it not, than in those who know it.





Two extremes: to exclude reason, to admit reason only.











Quotes for: opinion


Quotes

Quotes for: opinion


Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.





I think my opinions are good and sound, but who does not think the same of his own?





Article X – No one may be disturbed for his opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not trouble the public order established by the law.





Article XI – The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: any citizen thus may speak, write, print freely, except to respond to the abuse of this liberty, in the cases determined by the law.





We are so fond of being out among Nature, because it has no opinions about us.





So many men, so many opinions.











Quotes

René Descartes also said...


To live without philosophizing is properly to have one's eyes closed and never attempt to open them.





I dare to believe that inner joy has some secret power to win the favour of fortune.





It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.





The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.





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.





I think, therefore I am.












info   A quotation is a statement taken out of its context. Therefore, it is necessary to place any quotation within its author's work and its historical, geographical or philosophical context in order to fully understand its meaning. | The quotations stated on this site express their authors' opinion and do not reflect that of Buboquote.com


info   Image attribution:  title, author, license and source of the original file on Wikipedia. Modifications: changes have been made from the original file (cropping, resizing, renaming and color change).



logo

 Subscribe to the quote of the day email

Subscribe to the Quote of the Day to receive a quote every day in your inbox. It is spam-free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe to the quote of the day email