--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Experience stands on its own dunghill in…" description: "\"Experience stands on its own dunghill in medicine, and reason yields it place. Medicine has always professed experience to be the touchstone of its ope..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/michel-de-montaigne-142_medicine_experience-stands-on-its-own-dunghill-in_1512748.jpg" --- # Experience stands on its own dunghill in medicine, and… ![“Experience stands on its own dunghill in medicine, and reason yields it place. Medicine has always professed experience to be the touchstone of its operations.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/michel-de-montaigne-142_medicine_experience-stands-on-its-own-dunghill-in_1512748.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/michel-de-montaigne-142_medicine_experience-stands-on-its-own-dunghill-in_1512748.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/michel-de-montaigne-142_medicine_experience-stands-on-its-own-dunghill-in_1512748.jpg) > “Experience stands on its own dunghill in medicine, and reason yields it place. Medicine has always professed experience to be the touchstone of its operations.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experience is the ultimate authority in medicine, surpassing abstract reasoning. **In simple terms:** Practice beats theory. Key Takeaway Value hands‑on learning. Themes medicine knowledge experience reason Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - clinical training - patient care - medical education - research design Key Concepts empiricism clinical practice philosophy of science Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance evidence with intuition? - When should theory override anecdote? A Different Perspective Reason still guides interpretation of experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Medicine Professed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine-professed-5572332/) [Medicine Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine-reason-873808/) [Operations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/operations/) [Place Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-medicine-5135137/) [Professed Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professed-experience-5572333/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Touchstones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touchstones/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) ## Related quotes > [Cheerfulness, up to and including delusion and false hope, has a recognized place in medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/cheerfulness-up-to-and-including-delusion-and-false-hope-has-a/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“Medicine, I have reason since to notice more than once, remains an imperfect art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/medicine-i-have-reason-since-to-notice-more-than-once-remains-an/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The two fulcra of medicine are reason and observation. Observation is the clue to guide the physician in his thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-baglivi/the-two-fulcra-of-medicine-are-reason-and-observation-observation-is/) [Giorgio Baglivi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-baglivi/) > [If others surpass you in knowledge, in charm, in strength, in fortune, you have other causes to blame for it; but if you yield…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-others-surpass-you-in-knowledge-in-charm-in-strength-in-fortune/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [We easily enough confess in others an advantage of courage, strength, experience, activity, and beauty; but an advantage in judgment we yield to none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-easily-enough-confess-in-others-an-advantage-of-courage-strength/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Wonder is the foundation of all philosophy; research, the progress; ignorance, the end. There is, by heavens, a strong and generous kind of ignorance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/wonder-is-the-foundation-of-all-philosophy-research-the-progress/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/art-establishes-the-basic-human-truths-which-must-serve-as-the/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [We are all the sons or daughters of immigrants - some more recent than others - but all dedicated to the triumph of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/we-are-all-the-sons-or-daughters-of-immigrants-some-more-recent-than/) [Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/) > [Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/most-things-are-forgotten-over-time-even-the-war-itself-the-life-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Tyler Perry's brand is faith, family and this whole thing that I've built, while my company, 34th Street Films, is like Disney's Touchstone. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/tyler-perry-s-brand-is-faith-family-and-this-whole-thing-that-i-ve/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [A touchstone to determine the actual worth of an "intellectual" - find out how he feels about astrology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-touchstone-to-determine-the-actual-worth-of-an-intellectual-find/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [I think that one of the things that we all agree to is that the touchstone for economic policy is, does it allow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-that-one-of-the-things-that-we-all-agree-to-is-that-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/in-a-secularising-world-art-has-replaced-religion-as-a-touchstone-of/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Intelligent investment is more a matter of mental approach than it is of technique. A sound mental approach toward stock fluctuations is the touchstone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/intelligent-investment-is-more-a-matter-of-mental-approach-than-it-is/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Experience quotes > [Experience makes a lesson to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-makes-a-lesson-to-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Iranians hate Arabs. They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) [Michael Bugeja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bugeja/) > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [Experience is a thorough teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jane-holmes/experience-is-a-thorough-teacher/) [Mary Jane Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jane-holmes/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I've had a great experience with pretty much everybody I've worked with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-ve-had-a-great-experience-with-pretty-much-everybody-i-ve-worked/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [It wasn't a mistake, it was a fun learning experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-wasn-t-a-mistake-it-was-a-fun-learning-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) [Browse all 11,792 Experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Experience stands on its own dunghill in medicine, and reason yields it place. 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