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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

an excerpt from one of Descartes' books

But inasmuch as reason already persuades me that I ought no less carefully to withhold my assent from matters which are not entirely certain and indubitable than from those which appear to me manifestly to be false, if I am able to find in each one some reason to doubt, this will suffice to justify my rejecting the whole

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Would you please explain to me what the above exactly means in easier terms?
  

Top answer

I have thought about this, and I have reached the conclusion that I should not believe something that is not absolutely certain, just as I would not believe in something that is clearly wrong. This means that if I find something that has anything uncertain about it, I should reject the whole thing.

— Blue Jay

  • I have thought about this, and I have reached the conclusion that I should not believe something that is not absolutely certain, just as I would not believe in something that is clearly wrong.
  • This means that if I find something that has anything uncertain about it, I should reject the whole thing.
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2 Answers
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I have thought about this, and I have reached the conclusion that I should not believe something that is not absolutely certain, just as I would not believe in something that is clearly wrong. This means that if I find something that has anything uncertain about it, I should reject the whole thing.
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Logic tells me that I should be just as reluctant to agree with things that are not absolutely certain as those things which are obviously wrong. If I suspect that any part of something is wrong, then I will say that all of it is wrong.
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