Argument Quote by Roger Bacon
“There are two modes of knowledge: through argument and through experience. Argument brings conclusions and compels us to concede them, but it does not cause certainty nor remove doubts that the mind may rest in truth, unless this is provided by experience.”
About This Quote
Source Treat: Opus Majus, 1267
Knowledge comes from both logical debate and lived experience; argument shapes ideas, but only experience can confirm truth and dispel doubt.
In simple terms: Both reasoning and experience are needed for true knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Balance study with real‑world practice.
Themes
ep
experience
truth
certainty
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- Academic research
- personal decision making
- skill acquisition
- problem solving
Key Concepts
Epistemology
empiricism
dialectic
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you test your conclusions in real life?
- When have you trusted experience over theory?
A Different Perspective
Argument alone may not resolve deep uncertainties without practical verification.
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)
![“There are four great sciences, without which the other sciences cannot be known nor a knowledge of things secured ... Of these sciences the gate and key is mathematics ... He who is ignorant of this [mathematics] cannot know the other sciences nor the affairs of this world.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/555/roger-bacon-15067_affair_there-are-four-great-sciences-without-wh_575596.jpg)
![“All science requires mathematics. [Editors' summary of Bacon's idea, not Bacon's wording.]” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/49e/roger-bacon-15067_editors_all-science-requires-mathematics-editors_697422.jpg)
