Clear Quote by Rene Descartes
![“This result could have been achieved either by his [God] endowing my intellect with a clear and distinct perception of everything about which I would ever deliberate, or simply by impressing the following rule so firmly upon my memory that I could never forget it: I should never judge anything…” quote by Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6d5/ren-descartes-1376_clear_this-result-could-have-been-achieved-eit_2356901.jpg)
“This result could have been achieved either by his [God] endowing my intellect with a clear and distinct perception of everything about which I would ever deliberate, or simply by impressing the following rule so firmly upon my memory that I could never forget it: I should never judge anything that I do not clearly and distinctly understand.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Meditations on First Philosophy, 1641
Recognize limits of knowledge; only judge what is clearly understood; otherwise refrain from judgment.
In simple terms: Judge only what you clearly understand.
Key Takeaway
Pause before judging unclear matters.
Themes
philosophy
epistemology
humility
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- academic debate
- personal decision making
- legal judgments
- ethical dilemmas
Key Concepts
Cartesian doubt
clear and distinct ideas
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you verify clarity before forming an opinion?
- What safeguards can prevent premature judgments?
A Different Perspective
Human intuition can be misleading without rigorous analysis.
![“[About Pierre de Fermat] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For my part, however, I have always been taught to take a broad overview of things, in order to be able to deduce from them general rules, which might be applicable…” quote by Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/588/ren-descartes-1376_able_about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-deni_89929.jpg)
![“And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. [But how mistakenly!] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call the human body; I am not a subtle penetrating air distributed throughout all these members; I am not a wind, a fire, a vapor, a breath or anything at all that I can image. I am…” quote by René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/207/ren-descartes-1376_human-body_and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the_115493.jpg)
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
