--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our reasonings concerning matter of…" description: "\"In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/david-hume-538_assurance_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_467636.jpg" --- # In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all… ![“In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/david-hume-538_assurance_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_467636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/david-hume-538_assurance_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_467636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/david-hume-538_assurance_in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-f_467636.jpg) > “In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Belief should match the strength of supporting evidence, ranging from certainty to weak moral evidence. **In simple terms:** Match belief to evidence. Key Takeaway Align confidence with proof. Themes epistemology reason belief evidence Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - scientific research - legal judgments - personal decisions - policy making Key Concepts probabilistic reasoning moral epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess evidence strength? - When should you doubt strong evidence? A Different Perspective Evidence can be ambiguous, making proportional belief difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-evidence-1226705/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Lowest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lowest/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter of fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-of-fact/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-evidence-4048657/) [Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion/) [Proportions Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportions-belief-1226704/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Reasonings Concerning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonings-concerning-4048658/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/) ## Related quotes > [A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/a-wise-man-proportions-his-belief-to-the-evidence/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/a-wise-man-therefore-proportions-his-belief-to-the-evidence/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [But in addition to all the moral evidence against the Bible, I will, in the progress of this work, produce such other evidence as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-in-addition-to-all-the-moral-evidence-against-the-bible-i-will-in/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“in our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-noakes/in-our-reasonings-concerning-matter-of-fact-there-are-all-imaginable-2/) [Tim Noakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-noakes/) > [“Logic is not the science of Belief, but the science of Proof, or Evidence. In so far as belief professes to be founded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/logic-is-not-the-science-of-belief-but-the-science-of-proof-or/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Belief without evidence is the very hallmark of the savage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/belief-without-evidence-is-the-very-hallmark-of-the-savage/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Faith is belief without evidence and reason; coincidentally that's also the definition of delusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/faith-is-belief-without-evidence-and-reason-coincidentally-that-s/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/faith-belief-without-evidence-in-what-is-told-by-one-who-speaks/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Faith: a firm belief for which there is no evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/faith-a-firm-belief-for-which-there-is-no-evidence/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Faith is not properly defined as belief without evidence, as some critics would have it. It is an experience, and a way of being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-smiles/faith-is-not-properly-defined-as-belief-without-evidence-as-some/) [Vincent Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-smiles/) > [When the coherence of the parts of a stone, or even that composition of parts which renders it extended; when these familiar objects, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-the-coherence-of-the-parts-of-a-stone-or-even-that-composition/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [..all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-arguments-concerning-existence-are-founded-on-the-relation-of/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Though experience be our only guide in reasoning concerning matters of fact; it must be acknowledged, that this guide is not altogether infallible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/though-experience-be-our-only-guide-in-reasoning-concerning-matters/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Reason, in a strict sense, as meaning the judgment of truth and falsehood, can never, of itself, be any motive to the will, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/reason-in-a-strict-sense-as-meaning-the-judgment-of-truth-and/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [... if you insist that the inference is made by a chain of reasoning, I desire you to produce that reasoning. The connection between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/if-you-insist-that-the-inference-is-made-by-a-chain-of-reasoning-i/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. 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When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Assurance quotes > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. 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