--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do we know that anything really…" description: "\"How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?\" — Rene Descartes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png" --- # How do we know that anything really exists, that anything… ![“How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?” quote by Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png) > “How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?” [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions the reliability of sensory perception and the existence of an external world, urging doubt as a path to certainty. **In simple terms:** We can’t fully trust our senses to prove reality. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about reality. Themes epistemology skepticism existence Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific inquiry - daily decision making - critical thinking - education Key Concepts philosophy metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - What can we know for certain without senses? - How does doubt affect daily choices? A Different Perspective Sensory evidence is essential for practical living despite philosophical doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I don't think some perfect concept of closure ever really exists; it's not really a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-madix/i-don-t-think-some-perfect-concept-of-closure-ever-really-exists-it-s/) [Ariana Madix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-madix/) > [What people have to make sure of is that they're not replicating something that already exists. You really have to ask yourself: "Is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/what-people-have-to-make-sure-of-is-that-they-re-not-replicating/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“Oh my God" ... "Not sure he really exists”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/oh-my-god-not-sure-he-really-exists/) [Jennifer L. 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Drury > [“Does this mean Harry Potter really exists?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corwin/does-this-mean-harry-potter-really-exists/) [John Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corwin/) > [You wonder and you wonder until you wander out into Infinity, where - if it is to be found anywhere - Truth really exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-bonner/you-wonder-and-you-wonder-until-you-wander-out-into-infinity-where-if/) [Marita Bonner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-bonner/) > [God really exists, I tell you like this: It resides inside. And anybody tell you different, Just selling you religion, Tryin' to keep your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/god-really-exists-i-tell-you-like-this-it-resides-inside-and-anybody/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [“The first thing to do,' said Psmith, 'is to ascertain that such a place as Clapham Common really exists. 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And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was often-times filled with your tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/your-joy-is-your-sorrow-unmasked-and-the-self-same-well-from-which/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/so-blind-is-the-curiosity-by-which-mortals-are-possessed-that-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-to-be-possessed-of-a-vigorous-mind-is-not-enough-the-prime/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-useful-to-know-something-of-the-manners-of-different-nations/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/a-state-is-better-governed-which-has-few-laws-and-those-laws-strictly/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Science is practical philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/science-is-practical-philosophy/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ “And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. \[But how mistakenly!\] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the-imagination-but-how/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“And, in fine, of false sciences I thought I knew the worth sufficiently to escape being deceived by the professions of an alchemist, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-in-fine-of-false-sciences-i-thought-i-knew-the-worth-sufficiently/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/nothing-is-more-fairly-distributed-than-common-sense-no-one-thinks-he/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If I go for the alternative which is false, then obviously I shall be in error; if I take the other side, then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/if-i-go-for-the-alternative-which-is-false-then-obviously-i-shall-be/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [It is only intelligence that is divided equally between people because everybody thinks he/she is enough wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-only-intelligence-that-is-divided-equally-between-people/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) [Explore all 232 Rene Descartes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More Exists quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [What's gone will never come back, but it exists when you think of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/what-s-gone-will-never-come-back-but-it-exists-when-you-think-of-it/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I have to admit that I get quite emotional listening to the amazing talent that exists in the New York subways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-o-hare/i-have-to-admit-that-i-get-quite-emotional-listening-to-the-amazing/) [Lisa O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-o-hare/) > [No good end exists for any dictator!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/no-good-end-exists-for-any-dictator/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Nothing exists until it is created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-coalson/nothing-exists-until-it-is-created/) Les Coalson > [I don't spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don't consider that a relevant question. It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-whether-god-exists-i-don-t/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [Once you realize just the sort of glut of books that exists out there, it does become incumbent on you not to add to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/once-you-realize-just-the-sort-of-glut-of-books-that-exists-out-there/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The launch of phase 1 Ebola vaccine studies is a first step in developing a vaccine that could be licensed and used in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-launch-of-phase-1-ebola-vaccine-studies-is-a-first-step-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What do I believe? I believe in God, if he exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/what-do-i-believe-i-believe-in-god-if-he-exists/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [Love exists to show us how much we can endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/love-exists-to-show-us-how-much-we-can-endure/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [More than ever, Romania now needs to see that a force exists that puts an end to Ponta and Antonescu's abuses and coup d'etat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/traian-basescu/more-than-ever-romania-now-needs-to-see-that-a-force-exists-that-puts/) [Traian Basescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/traian-basescu/) > [“Love exists to the extent that you give it away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-woodward-thomas/love-exists-to-the-extent-that-you-give-it-away/) [Katherine Woodward Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-woodward-thomas/) > [Attention may sound dull, but it is an essential aspect of consciousness. In fact, it governs what it is that we turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-mcgilchrist/attention-may-sound-dull-but-it-is-an-essential-aspect-of/) [Iain McGilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-mcgilchrist/) > [That is what poetry can do. It speaks to us of what does not exist, which is not only better than what exists, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/that-is-what-poetry-can-do-it-speaks-to-us-of-what-does-not-exist/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) Browse all 647 Exists quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rene Descartes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exists-that-anything-is-really/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exists-that-anything-is-really/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/125/ren-descartes-1376_exists_how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exis_3175417.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?” — Rene Descartes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rene Descartes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How do we know that anything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exists-that-anything-is-really/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exists-that-anything-is-really/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```