--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To me it seems that those sciences are…" description: "\"“To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand experience which i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8d/leonardo-da-vinci-330_doubt_to-me-it-seems-that-those-sciences-are-v_1030797.jpg" --- # To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of… ![“To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand experience which in its origins, or means, or end has passed through one of the five senses. And if we doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the…” quote by Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8d/leonardo-da-vinci-330_doubt_to-me-it-seems-that-those-sciences-are-v_1030797.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8d/leonardo-da-vinci-330_doubt_to-me-it-seems-that-those-sciences-are-v_1030797.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8d/leonardo-da-vinci-330_doubt_to-me-it-seems-that-those-sciences-are-v_1030797.jpg) > ““To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand experience which in its origins, or means, or end has passed through one of the five senses. And if we doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the senses, how much more ought we to doubt things contrary to these senses – ribelli ad essi sensi – such as the existence of God or of the soul or similar things over which there is always dispute and contention. And in fact it happens that whenever reason is wanting men to cry out against one another, which does not happen with certainties. For this reason we shall say that where the cry of controversy is heard, there is no true science, because the truth has one single end and when this is published, argument is destroyed for ever.”” [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that true knowledge must stem from direct sensory experience; concepts beyond the senses, like God or the soul, are uncertain and lead to endless debate. **In simple terms:** Knowledge should be based on what we can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste. Key Takeaway Rely on empirical evidence. Themes epistemology skepticism science Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical inquiry - education - debates on religion Key Concepts empiricism ontology metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - Can we ever know anything beyond our senses? - How do we balance empirical data with abstract reasoning? A Different Perspective It may undervalue theoretical reasoning that can predict unseen phenomena. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Existence of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-of-god/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Five senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-senses/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Universal-truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-truths/) ## Related quotes > [We must doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the senses, but how much more ought we to doubt things contrary to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/we-must-doubt-the-certainty-of-everything-which-passes-through-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been reversed. Nowadays the part of a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-man-was-meant-to-be-doubtful-about-himself-but-undoubting-about-the-2/) [Gilbert K. 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But among the things that science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/of-course-in-science-there-are-things-that-are-open-to-doubt-and/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The mathematician knows some things, no doubt, but not those things one usually wants to get from him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-mathematician-knows-some-things-no-doubt-but-not-those-things-one/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I can't doubt things when you're Swaggy P.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-young/i-can-t-doubt-things-when-you-re-swaggy-p/) [Nick Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-young/) > [There are a lot of reasons to doubt things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/there-are-a-lot-of-reasons-to-doubt-things/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [It is no sin to doubt some things but it may be fatal to believe everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-is-no-sin-to-doubt-some-things-but-it-may-be-fatal-to-believe/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Theres a process of self doubt when things go wrong. Whether or not its personal or a friend in trouble, looking at ones self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mickley-wood/theres-a-process-of-self-doubt-when-things-go-wrong-whether-or-not/) Adam Mickley Wood > [I might as well doubt of my own being, as of the being of those things I actually see and feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/i-might-as-well-doubt-of-my-own-being-as-of-the-being-of-those-things/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Some, merely to contradict what I had said, did not scruple to cast doubt upon things they had seen with their own eyes again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/some-merely-to-contradict-what-i-had-said-did-not-scruple-to-cast/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [The five senses are the ministers of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-five-senses-are-the-ministers-of-the-soul/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/to-me-it-seems-that-those-sciences-are-vain-and-full-of-error-which-2/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More by Leonardo da Vinci > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nothing can be love or hated unless it is first known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/nothing-can-be-love-or-hated-unless-it-is-first-known/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [An arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/an-arch-consists-of-two-weaknesses-which-leaning-one-against-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [But to me all sciences seem vain and full of error that are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/but-to-me-all-sciences-seem-vain-and-full-of-error-that-are-not-born/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“Time stays long enough for those who use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/time-stays-long-enough-for-those-who-use-it/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Be a mirror, absorb everything around you and still remain the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/be-a-mirror-absorb-everything-around-you-and-still-remain-the-same/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Your brain is much better than you think; just use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/your-brain-is-much-better-than-you-think-just-use-it/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Necessity is a guardian in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/necessity-is-a-guardian-in-nature/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/human-subtlety-will-never-devise-an-invention-more-beautiful-more/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/people-reveal-themselves-completely-only-when-they-are-thrown-out-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [To be a winner you must want to win but must know of the chance of losing and must not fear of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/to-be-a-winner-you-must-want-to-win-but-must-know-of-the-chance-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nature is so delightful and abundant in its variations that among trees of the same kind there would not be found one which nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/nature-is-so-delightful-and-abundant-in-its-variations-that-among/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Wisdom is the daughter of experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/wisdom-is-the-daughter-of-experience/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) [Explore all 664 Leonardo da Vinci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. 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Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) Harry Chapman > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To me it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand experience which in its origins, or means, or end has passed through one of the five senses. 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